James Potter and the Blue Unicorn
by Sirius1
Summary: A new life dawns for James Potter ... he is whisked away from his home to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There, he meets a number of interesting characters. But there is something sinister going on at Hogwarts ... will James be able to solve
1. The Blue Unicorn (1)

# 

# Together Forever

## _Chapter 1: James Potter and the Blue Unicorn_

This is my first fanfiction on this site (or, for that matter, anywhere). It's a MWPP (Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, for those amongst you who are _grossly _misinformed. *g*) story that will turn out quite long, so please stick with it because it has taken me a while to write (this chapter, at least). I know most people think Lily and James are supposed to hate each other, but what the hell. Also, all my SPG is colloquial English, you Americans etc will have to bear with. If you don't understand well … tough. Also, thanks to Tropical Fishy (the best fanfic writer – If you like L/J fics, read The Flower and the Stag) for inspiring me to write this. Enjoy. Note: I have rewritten a large section of this (4/01) …

He kept on running…the pain in his leg was intense, but he couldn't stop. He heard the beast again, heard it howling in the full moon, and its paws scrabbling across the path, after him. He had to keep going, he had to get away. Faster he ran, as fast as his legs would carry him, the pain in his leg intensified only by the fear in his mind. Further he ran, through the thick forest, until there was nowhere else he could go; he was trapped. The beast edged slowly forward, its many teeth glinting in the moonlight. He began to scream, he screamed with all his might, but the creature had him. He felt razor sharp teeth sinking into his soft flesh, and the world began to spin. Darker and darker, he was vaguely aware of voices, but he couldn't understand them. He fell backwards, and his mind went blank…

James Potter woke with a start. He checked the clock. It was 3:30AM in the morning, according to his handy luminescent alarm clock. He tried to get back to sleep, but couldn't; he couldn't get the visions from his dream out of his head. He decided instead to get himself a glass of water. As he walked across the hall, he heard snores coming from his parent's room, and allowed himself a small smile. As James returned to his room, he passed the mirror in the hall. It showed a tall, very tired-looking 11 year old, with glasses covering a pair of deep blue eyes and black hair that stuck out at every angle. There was nothing unique about this boy except for one thing. James Potter was a wizard.

It was only yesterday, as he went to fetch in the newspaper for his mother (who had worried frenziedly that she may not get the chance to check her Divination prophecies for the coming week), that he noticed received a peculiar looking letter in the post. Bemused, James had proceeded to skim through the letter, and allowed himself a contented grin upon completion. It had been a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and had looked like this:

#### HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND

#### WIZARDRY

#### Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc.,_

_Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International_

_Confed. Of Wizards)_

__

_Dear Mr Potter,_

__

_We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

__

_Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July._

_ _

_Yours sincerely,___

_ _

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

_ _

James parents, being as they were former pupils of Hogwarts, had not been particularly surprised. However, that hadn't ruined the celebrations. The atmosphere the previous night at the Potters' place of residency, The Observatory, had been a cheerful one. Today, James and his parents were to travel to Diagon Alley in London to buy him all his school equipment. Also, his father, being quite a wealthy constituent of the Ministry of Magic, had promised to get him an owl.

At the moment, however, James was not feeling remarkably ecstatic. The nightmare he had just encountered was one he had previously met as a small child, and that was not the first time it had recurred since then. Unfortunately, the events of the dream tended to slip from James' memory shortly after he woke, and hanging on to the details was like trying to retain flowing water in one's cupped hands. He decided with a sigh that he may as well attempt to get some sleep, and lay his head slowly down onto his pillow.

* 

The next day was both exciting and interesting for James. He got all his new robes, books and equipment in Diagon Alley, a secret street full of magical shops and buildings. 

He also purchased his wand from _Ollivanders_, the wand makers, which was not a particularly gratifying experience. According to the slightly eerie Mr Ollivander, his wand was mahogany, with a phoenix feather running up its eleven-inch core. Ollivander also seemed very interested to learn that James' wand hand was his left and not his right.

There were a number of items with which James was fascinated, though in more than one case his parents had to put their feet down about what he could and couldn't purchase. The one thing James desperately wanted was a brand new, state-of-the-art broomstick placed in the window of _Quality Quidditch Supplies_. According to its caption, the new _Silver Arrow_ boasted speeds of up to 100 miles an hour and incorporated an impregnable shield charm. James was passionate about Quidditch, and, though he had rarely played, his father always told him he would play for England one day. However, to James' chagrin, on his equipment list it remarked:

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST-YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS. 

Therefore James was not allowed one. He was disappointed, but he cheered up immensely when, after finishing several hours of avid shopping and picking up all James' required items, his father bought him his own tawny owl from the _Magical Menagerie_.

*

On the night of the thirty-first of August, James couldn't sleep. He was both too excited and nervous about the forthcoming day. He decided, instead of getting into bed, to flick through some of his schoolbooks, which were very interesting, and to mindlessly stroke his new owl, which he had affectionately named Mercury. He fell asleep eventually, and visited a land of dreams far from the desolate forest of central Nottingham.

The morning brought with it an outbreak of unusual activity. The Observatory was usually seen as a dormant building, and the gratuitous amounts of shouting and hooting coming from it served to make more than one neighbour from the surrounding village curious. Fortunately, no one succumbed to actually looking over the high Observatory walls, as a number of strange sights may well have met their eyes. After much panting and puffing, James and his parents were able to transfer his entire luggage from the front hall of the house to the boot of James' father's car and shortly, they were off. 

They reached Kings Cross station, from where James was instructed to catch the Hogwarts Express, at ten-forty, giving James twenty minutes to get onto the train. Once he had fallen through the seemingly solid barrier onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters, he kissed his mother and father goodbye, and they left.

He began to heave his immensely heavy trunk onto the train when he heard a voice.

'Hey, do you want us to give you a hand?'

He looked up to see whom the speaker was and saw that it was a tallish boy, of around his age, with long black hair and a grin on his face. He had, even for one so young, distinctly rugged good looks, though James didn't dwell on this point for long before moving his eyes to the boy's companion. 

She was a rather short girl; indeed, her friend was at least a head taller than her. She too was very pretty, James noticed, glancing from one to the other. The girl had long, dark red hair, and a pair of extremely bright green eyes. James thought, with a grin, that she'd be difficult to lose in a crowd.

'Yes, thanks.' James replied, returning the boy's grin, and the three of them managed to haul his trunk onto the train. 'So,' he asked, as they stood panting slightly on the platform, 'are you two new at Hogwarts too?'

'Yeah,' replied the girl, 'I'm Lily Burns and this is Sirius Black. He's insane,' she added fondly. 'What's your name?'

'James,' James replied simply, 'James Potter.'

'Potter,' Sirius mused. 'Hmm. Has a nice ring. Potter … James Potter.'

'You watch far too many Bond movies,' Lily replied, rolling her eyes. 'Come on. Time to go.' 

After their initial introductions, the three of them climbed aboard the train, and were chatting to each other unconcernedly about Quidditch and arriving at Hogwarts when two more people entered their compartment, a tall girl, with long, blonde hair and a smaller, slightly podgy boy.

'Hey, do you mind if we sit here with you?' asked the girl, 'Everywhere else is full. Well, except that compartment with that kid who's really –'

'Let's not go into … gratuitous detail,' muttered one of her companions, eliciting laughs from the compartment.

'No problem', replied Sirius, moving up and allowing them to sit down.

'What are your names?' James inquired.

'My name's Katie Evans and this is Peter Pettigrew,' replied the girl. 'I'm really excited, aren't you? I'm the first person in my family to go to Hogwarts, you see, nobody in my family's magic. You should have seen my parent's faces when I got the letter; they were so shocked.'

'I'm the first witch in my family as well' said Lily. James noticed an odd flicker pass over her face, almost like a grimace. 'So I know what you mean.'

The five children continued to talk to each other throughout the rest of the journey, and bought copious amounts of various pickings from the food trolley. They all soon realised they had many things in common. As they were approaching Hogwarts, and they had all changed into their robes, they began to talk about the different houses.

'Gryffindor sounds like the best,' James said, thinking about what his parents had told him.

'I don't care which house I'm in,' remarked Sirius, 'as long as it isn't Slytherin.' There was a murmur of agreement from the others.

'I doubt Slytherin would want _you_ in it, Black,' came a drawling voice from the compartment door.

They all whirled round to see three unpleasant looking people standing in the doorway. The boy in the centre, who had just spoken, had black eyes and greasy black hair. On either side of him he had his friends, one looking slightly nervous, James thought, and the other looking very mean. All three of them were glaring at Sirius, who, James realised, must know them. 

'What do _you_ want, Snape?' spat Sirius, saying the word 'Snape' with utmost loathing in his voice.

'Now Black, don't do anything silly,' Snape replied, 'or you might _regret_ it.' He put his hands into his robes as he said it. Both James and Lily stood up at the same time.

'Is that a threat, er, ugly?' James said coolly. There were some snickers from Sirius and Lily, and Snape's ears reddened slightly.

'No, I can assure you, it's a promise,' he replied, regaining some of his composure whilst his two friends chuckled, 'and I think you ought to watch your step too,' he added dangerously, before he and his friends turned and left the compartment.

'Slimy git,' remarked Sirius, after Snape had left.

'Who is he?' asked Peter.

'An evil git,' answered Sirius, 'his family are Voldemort supporters.' Everyone except James gasped.

'What?' said James and Sirius in unison.

'You said _You-Know-Who's_ name,' said Katie, 'I thought you weren't supposed to. It says in all my books …'

'So did I.' Peter added, nodding in agreement.

'We're just showing him we aren't afraid of him, that's all,' said James. 'There's no point.' 

'Speak for yourselves,' added Peter.

This conversation was cut short by an announcement made by the driver:

'We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes time. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately.'

_ _

All five friends got up from their seats, checked for any leftover food, and joined the throng outside in the corridor. The train gradually slowed and finally stopped. As James and Sirius stepped out onto the platform, the cold night air bit their faces. Then a voice came bobbing over the heads of the students.

'Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here!' 

James looked up and saw an absolute giant of a person, a man who looked simply _too big _to be allowed. He had long, shaggy hair, and a tangled black beard. He also had crinkled beetle eyes hidden underneath all his hair. He didn't look particularly old, per se, or even like a Professor, but his height and width served to make him a very commanding presence.

'I think his name's Hagrid,' he heard Sirius explain to Lily. 'He's the gamekeeper.' Lily looked bemused, but as Hagrid had now managed to get all the first years together, he was leading them onward towards the Castle. They followed a long, narrow path, until they turned a corner and it opened out onto the edge of a great black lake. On the opposite shore stood Hogwarts Castle, looking distinctively mysterious with crystalline moonlight reflecting from its many windows. James could also see many turrets and towers protruding from the castle to the skyline. 

By now, the first-years were all looking, as James had felt the previous evening, both excited and nervous, though none more so than Katie, who was positively shivering with anticipation. 

Hagrid then shifted their attentions to the shore of the lake, where many small rowing boats were moored.

'No more'n four to a boat' cried Hagrid.

Sirius and James entered a boat with Lily and Peter, and the four of them began rowing across the lake towards the castle. When they reached the opposite shore, Hagrid led them along another path and up to the castle door. After checking that everyone was present, he raised his fist and knocked on the gargantuan oak door.

The door swung open to reveal a stern looking witch wearing magenta robes and a witch's hat.

'Welcome to Hogwarts,' she said, nodding to Hagrid, and beckoning them into the Entrance Hall, which, James noticed, was absolutely enormous, with a magnificent marble staircase leading to the upper floors.

'Welcome first years,' the witch said, once sure she had everyone's attentions. 'My name is Professor McGonagall. The Sorting ceremony will begin shortly. Please wait here until I call you into the hall.'

After Professor McGonagall had left to prepare the sorting, the nervous first years started talking about the sorting.

'I heard you have to fight a dragon,' one terrified looking girl remarked.

'Don't be daft, they wouldn't make us do anything like that,' responded Sirius, though James couldn't help noticing that he looked rather pale. Even Snape looked slightly nervous under all the grease. James pointed this out to Sirius, and Sirius couldn't help smiling.

Suddenly, though, Professor McGonagall was back, and started leading them through to the Great Hall. As soon as he stepped into the Hall, James gasped, for where there should have been a ceiling, there was nothing; the Hall seemed to just open into the sky. He could see thousands of stars and a clear, full moon. In the hall itself stood four large tables, where students from the four houses were sitting. At the top stood the teacher's table, which was full all except for Professor McGonagall's seat. 

At that point however, his attention was drawn to a ragged hat, sitting on a stool at the front of the hall. All the first-years around him were looking slightly bemused. But then, a rip appeared on the hat, and it began to sing:

### 'Now this is not an easy job,

_I can assure you that._

_But this is an important job - _

_The Hogwarts Sorting Hat._

_My job though 'tis not easy,_

_'Tis something I must do._

_To look what is inside your head_

_And choose a house for you._

_So should I then choose Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave and bold._

_Or perhaps choose Ravenclaw,_

_If ready mind you hold._

_Then again, choose Hufflepuff, _

_Where stand the loyal and just._

_Or finally choose Slytherin, _

_Ambition is a must._

_So try me on, don't be afraid_

_Don't stand so nervously._

_Just try me on, and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be!'_

_ _

The moment the hat stopped singing, the whole hall burst into applause. Professor McGonagall stood up, holding a large scroll of parchment.

__'When I call your name, please come forward and put on the hat,' she said. 'Ackerley, Jonathan!'

'_Ravenclaw!_' shouted the hat, and Jonathan went and sat down at the second table from the left.

'Avery, Jacob!'

One of the boys that had been shadowing Snape on the train, the one who James had noticed looking slightly nervous walked forward, with a bored expression on his face.

'_Slytherin!_' screamed the hat, and Avery made his way over to the Slytherin table. 

'Bennett, Deborah!'

'_Hufflepuff!_'

'Black, Sirius!' A pale-faced Sirius ran forward, and placed the hat on his head. Then after about ten seconds…

'_Gryffindor!_' and a very relieved-looking Sirius went and sat on his own at the Gryffindor table.

Next came Lily. She was also made a Gryffindor, and went to sit next to Sirius.

'Carter, Anna!' then became a Slytherin.

Slowly, the line of people at the front got shorter.

Katie was also made a Gryffindor, and went to sit with Sirius and Lily.

'Lestrange, José,' the other boy that had been with Snape on the train was also made a Slytherin.

'Longbottom, Frank!'

'_Gryffindor!_' James could see Sirius, Lily and Katie welcoming Frank, and he began to start feeling very nervous.

'Lupin, Remus!' No one moved.

'Lupin, Remus!' Again there was no reply. All around the hall, people were whispering to each other with puzzled expressions.

At that moment, however, a short witch, who could only be the school nurse, as she had a red cross on her hat, crossed the hall and whispered something into Professor McGonagall's ear. Professor McGonagall seemed satisfied, however, and continued down her list. Peter was also made a Gryffindor, and then, she came to…

'Potter, James!'

James walked forwards, and placed the hat on his head.

'Let me see,' said a voice at the back of his head. 'A left-hander, eh? Sinister … no … I can't see anything for Slytherin in here. Courage, yes, and talent, lots of talent. Ravenclaw? No … intelligence, a degree of mischief … yes, I concur. It can only be _Gryffindor!_'

James, now feeling dazedly content, and still chuckling at the Sorting Hat's analogy, made his way over to his new house table to join Sirius, Lily and the others. 

'Nice one James.' whispered Sirius, grinning.

After the rest of the new students had been sorted (Snape was made a Slytherin, much to nobody's surprise), and the Sorting Hat had finished its task by loudly announcing 'Stableford, Andrew!' as a '_Hufflepuff!_' and 'Xavier, Jésus!' as, eventually, a '_Ravenclaw!' Dumbledore stood up._

'Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts.' He began, 'there are a few notices I must give you all before the feast. Firstly, the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to _all_ pupils, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all students in first and second year. Yes, Mr Vaughn, I said _all pupils,' he added, his eyes twinkling as he looked to the Gryffindor table. _

'Also, I would like to draw your attention to a new hazard within the school grounds. A Whomping Willow has been planted for certain imperative reasons. I needn't warn those older students amongst you how dangerous Whomping Willows are, as I'm sure your rapt attention in Herbology lessons would suffice to give you the answer.' He paused as a number of people snickered around the Great Hall. 'Anybody caught within the vicinity of the Willow will be punished.

'And finally, Quidditch trials and flying lessons will begin next week. Anyone interested in playing House Quidditch should contact Madam Hooch as soon as possible. Remember that the Quidditch cup is a great honour to whichever house should receive it. Thank you.' He sat down.

The subsequent feast was _incredible_. James certainly ate well at home, but even if his mother worked for weeks she would be hard pushed to give him such variety. There were huge platters of every kind of meat under the sun; chicken, turkey, lamb (a/n Shudder), beef, pork chops. Even something that looked like roasted antelope. There were also copious variations of potatoes scattered around. Fried, boiled, mashed, baked, sautéed … James could barely keep count. 

And that was just the beginning. Tureens of vegetables and thick gravy stood at every few places along the table. And there were a number of condiments, herbs and spices easily accessible. James also had a large number of drinks to choose from. There was traditional pumpkin juice, a wizarding specialty, but also chilled water, various other types of juices, and what looked and tasted precisely like the Muggle drink lemonade. Lily almost fainted when she heard that its colloquial name was 'troll sweat', and was given profuse apologies by a sixth year who explained that this name had little if anything to do with the actual contents of the drink.

There was a lot of chatter going on around James at the table. Most of the first years were chatting about their impending lessons and or Quidditch practice. Lily, however, was glancing at James, who was at that particular moment drinking a goblet of water. 

'What?' he asked amusedly.

'Are you left-handed?' Lily asked, sounding impressed and awestruck.

'Yeah. Why's that so amazing?'

'Oh, it's just quite rare, that's all, or so I've read,' Lily replied. 'So, what lessons are you looking forward to?'

'Right at this moment, Lily, I just can't wait to get into bed …'

*

Later that night, Sirius, James, Lily and Peter sat up in the Gryffindor common room. Nearly everyone had gone to bed, but the four friends were enthusiastically discussing what Hogwarts was going to be like.

'I can't wait for flying lessons,' said James. 'I love Quidditch.'

'I don't' replied Peter.

'Don't worry Peter,' said Lily soothingly, 'you'll be-'

But what Peter would be they never found out, because at that moment, the portrait hole opened, and a boy with a face the pallor of snow entered the common room.

'Hi,' he said looking around at them, 'I'm Remus Lupin.'

'Oh, nice to meet you, _Remus_,' said Sirius, grinning at Frank, who smirked. Remus, if it was possible, blanched further. 

'What? Think my name's funny, do you? Sirius Black?' He laughed coldly. 'That's not a name. It's just a failed colour.' Sirius' face went red. James, sensing danger, stood up. He didn't like the way this conversation was going.

'Hi,' he said, holding out his hand to greet Remus, and giving Sirius a warning look. 'I'm James. This is, er, Lily. That's Peter and that's Sirius. Dammit, there are too many names to remember.' Remus surveyed James interestedly.

'Nice to meet you, Mr Potter,' Remus answered formally, taking James' hand. He sighed. 'I'm very tired,' he said. 'Busy day. I'm off to bed. Where's our dorm?'

'Right at the top,' Lily replied, without skipping a beat.

'Thanks,' Remus replied, showing what looked like a true smile. 'I just –

'Do I know you from somewhere?' James asked interestedly. He _knew_ he'd seen Remus before somewhere.

'I doubt it,' Remus replied. 'I was just about to say –'

'Why'd you miss the Sorting?' Sirius interrupted. A shiver crossed Remus' face.

'Late – missed the train,' he replied, though he avoided eye contact with any of them. 'Anyways, I'm shattered. See you people later.'And he left the common room, soon to be followed by Peter, Sirius, Lily and James.

As James climbed into bed that evening, he thought hard again. Remus had appeared somewhere before, hadn't he? He shook his head, bade Sirius good night (he was still reading his book), and fell asleep. And he had no dreams involving a very small, petrified child, or a large, horrific beast, with no affinity whatsoever for the full, orb-shaped planet taking centre stage in the starry night sky.

D'accord. There you are. Now, most of you must have noticed that this is not the original _Blue Unicorn_. I've actually just gone through and beta-ed it all, basically. I was, er, bored. I rarely put in disclaimers, and you all know that HP and all its rights belong to J. K. Rowling. I own … let's see … Katie, James' parents, the plot (which isn't really much) and the shifty Professors. See you, peeps. 

Ciao


	2. The Blue Unicorn (2)

Here we are, Part 2. Took me a while, but I got it done. Not very long, not much more happens, though the plot is established, and 

Remus has a dark secret...

Next morning, James was woken earlier than he would have wanted after Sirius threw a pillow at him.

'Good morning,' said Sirius cheerfully.

'Not for you,' replied James, and they continued to have a furious pillow fight, and were joined by Remus, Peter and Frank shortly. Then, after their fight, the five boys made their way down to breakfast. As they arrived, they saw the post arriving. James couldn't see Mercury, and guessed that she would be resting in the Owlery. 

The first-years were then given their new timetables, and saw that their first lesson was Transfiguration. So, they made their way to the Transfiguration classroom, where Professor McGonagall, the head of Gryffindor house was waiting. The task they were set was to change a match into a needle, and by the end of the lesson, only James had managed it. Sirius had given up and was making Lily laugh. Remus had almost got it, but not quite. Peter had also given up, and was chatting to Lily and Sirius. Unfortunately for the three of them, Professor McGonagall caught them, and took five points from Gryffindor.

***

Throughout the week, they had different lessons. On Monday and Tuesday afternoons they had Defence Against the Dark Arts with a wizard called Professor Thornheart, the head of Slytherin house. He wasn't too bad, though he disliked James and Sirius as they kept disrupting the lesson, but couldn't fail to like Frank, who was by far the best in the class. 

On Tuesday morning they had Potions with the Slytherins, with Professor Jackson, the head of Ravenclaw house, who was extremely good-natured and clever. He didn't even mind that James kept on making Sirius laugh throughout the lesson, or that they teased Snape. Sirius found Potions to be his best subject.

Charms, on Wednesday morning and Thursday afternoon, was taught by a tiny wizard called Professor Flitwick. Lily was surprised to find that she was very good at Charms, as she was the only person who performed the Trianus Charm, a simple charm to lock doors. On Wednesday afternoon they had Transfiguration again.

On Wednesday at midnight, they had Astronomy with a witch called Professor Sinistra. They had to study the stars and the planetary movements.

A young witch called Professor Lennox taught Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, on Thursday morning, which was where Peter shone. She was the head of Hufflepuff house, and was quite strict, though not as bad as Professor Thornheart.

An extremely old wizard called Professor Binns taught History of Magic on Friday morning. He had been teaching at Hogwarts for nearly forty years. His lessons, however, were about as interesting as watching paint dry, and therefore James and Sirius attempted to keep everyone entertained during them. This earned them both their first detentions, something they were both proud of.

'In our first week, as well,' Sirius had said happily.

'Its gotta be a record,' James had replied.

'I've got an idea. Let's try and break the world record for detentions in one year.'

'Sounds good. Reckon 50 would do?'

'Only one way to find out!'

On Friday afternoon, which the Gryffindors had free, James and Sirius sat on their own in the common room playing chess. Remus was visiting Hagrid, and Lily was doing her Charms homework. Peter was taking a nap. 

'Hey, James,' said Sirius suddenly, 'd'you fancy going for a stroll?'

'Certainly, Sirius,' said James, grinning.

The two of them got up, and left through the portrait hole.

'Where should we go?'

'Dunno.'

So the two of them decided just two walk around the school and try and find something mischievous to do. They managed to find the library, but were thrown out for making too much noise by Madam Pince, the librarian. James was on the verge of asking Sirius if he wanted to go back to the common room, when he heard voices coming from the room up ahead. He motioned to Sirius to follow him, and they edged closer to the room. The door was slightly ajar, and James could hear two voices: Professor Thornheart's and Professor Jackson's:

'Lee, you said you_ had _the formula,' came Thornheart's threatening voice

'Calm down Frederic, calm down,' came Jackson's shaky reply, 'I am working on it.'

'You must hurry, the potion only works within a year, and a month has passed already.'

'I have already-'

But then Professor Jackson stopped talking abruptly, because he had heard a noise from just outside the door - Sirius had sneezed. Panicking, James motioned to Sirius to follow him, but before they could turn the corridor…

'There is someone there!' He heard Jackson scream.

'Get them then!' Came Thornheart's reply.

James and Sirius broke into runs. They ran. They could hear Jackson's footsteps just behind them. They flew down a flight of stairs, through a door and turned a corner into a corridor filled with pictures of food. James' heart leapt - it was a dead end. They could hear Jackson coming closer and closer. They leaned right up against the wall, onto a painting of a fruit bowl, and tried to hide in the shadows. James' hand brushed the painting. And then, just as Jackson's shadow was visible around the corner, they heard a giggling sound. They turned to look at the painting, but it was gone_. _There was a _door. _James wasted no time. At lightning speed, he pulled the door open, and he and Sirius hurled themselves through it. As soon as they were through, they heard the painting slide back into place and heard Jackson's retreating footsteps.

'Has he gone?' whispered Sirius.

'I think so. Lucky escape, eh?' replied James, getting to his feet.

'Yeah,' said Sirius 'hey, where are we?' asked Sirius.

They were in a gigantic room, directly below, it seemed, the Great Hall, but almost the same size. Hundreds of pots and pans lay on huge shelves, and at the other end of the room was a huge, brick fireplace. Four huge tables, which James recognized as the House Tables, were standing empty in positions directly below where they would stand in the Great Hall.

'Sirius,' whispered James hoarsely, 'we've hit the jackpot, this is the kitchen!'

'But where's the food?' Sirius wondered aloud.

But then, at that moment, almost as though answering his question, about a hundred tiny creatures appeared in the far corner of the room. James recognized them as House Elves.

'They must do the cooking,' said Sirius, 'yeah, look.'

For at that moment, the House Elves began spit roasting a hundred fat chickens and boiling vats of potatoes. A group of the House Elves, however, approached James and Sirius.

'Can we get you anything, sirs,' one elf said in a very squeaky voice, 'can we get you anything at all?'

James and Sirius raised their eyebrows, and then nodded to each other.

'Have you got any fries?' asked Sirius innocently.

The house elves then rushed off and returned, about a minute later, with a plateful of fries.

'Good service,' remarked James, whilst munching his fries.

'Yeah,' agreed Sirius. 'And you know who we have to thank.'

'Yeah I do, Jackson. If he hadn't chased us, we would probably be in the common room now, hungry,' said James, with a pained expression.

After washing down their fries with a glass each of pumpkin juice, James and Sirius made their way up to the Gryffindor common room. They weren't hungry after their adventures in the kitchen.

'I just hope we can remember the way back,' remarked James, as they entered the common room. 

'Don't worry, I'll remember,' answered Sirius, 'My nose will lead us.' And he made a sniffing noise, as though to sniff out food.

James laughed, and they entered the common room to see: Frank playing chess with Sarah Coleman, another first-year Gryffindor, Lily now helping Peter with _his_ Charms homework, and Katie chatting to Heather Thomas, another first-year. They guessed that Remus would still be at Hagrid's. 

It was only as he got into bed that night that James remembered about the conversation he had overheard between Professors Jackson and Thornheart. What had they said? He couldn't remember much, only something about a potion. He decided not to worry about it, and was soon in a deep sleep.

James woke very early on Saturday morning and went down to the common room to find Sirius and Peter immersed in an exciting game of chess. Peter, who happened to be a very good chess player, had soon beaten Sirius, and had an expression of great smugness on his face.

'Bad luck Sirius,' he said, grinning.

'I'll beat you next time,' promised Sirius, returning the grin.

At that moment, the door to the dormitories opened and Remus came bounding into the common room.

'Morning all,' he said brightly.

'Morning,' replied James.

'You know what, I'm _really _hungry,' said Sirius suddenly, winking at James. 'But _where_ could we get food at this time of the morning?' he added, with an air of great wonder.

'You're _right_ Sirius,' said James, clocking on. 'I've got _no_ idea.'

'Have we missed something?' Remus asked.

And James and Sirius proceeded to tell Peter and Remus all the events of the previous afternoon. Peter was jealous of them finding the kitchens, but Remus, on the other hand, seemed more interested in the conversation between Professors Jackson and Thornheart.

'And you say they said something about a potion?' he asked James.

'Yeah, Thornheart was asking something like whether Jackson had the formula or something like that.'

'But Jackson said he hadn't?' prompted Remus.

'Yeah.'

'Well, I don't know what it's about,' Sirius added. 'But then again, I don't care.'

Peter agreed to this, and by the time they had stopped talking, Lily and Katie had joined them, and they all went down to breakfast.

At breakfast, and just after the post had arrived, Sirius said:

'Hey, do you guys want to go down and see that new tree thingy.'

'The Whomping Willow,' put in Remus so quickly, that the others stared.

'How do you know it's called that,' James asked, 'you weren't there when Dumbledore told us about it.'

'Oh, er, Dumbledore told me about it when I arrived,' said Remus, looking (James noticed) uncomfortable as he said it.

'Oh right,' said Sirius, 'that explains it,' though James couldn't help noticing the doubtfulness in his voice. 'So anyway, this Ravenclaw kid, something Chang, he said some fifth-years have invented a game to do with it, and Dumbledore did say we'd get in trouble if we went near it.

James couldn't help laughing at the hopefulness in Sirius' voice as he said this.

'Yeah, sure Sirius, I'll come,' he said, still chuckling.

'Me too.' Said Peter.

'Er, I think I'll do my Charms essay,' said Remus, in a strangely high-pitched voice, 'yeah, I really need to finish it.'

'Um, Remus?' said Lily innocently.

'Mm?'

'Er, we haven't been given a Charms essay yet.'

'What! Oh! Did I say Charms? I meant Defense Against the Dark Arts,' he continued, in the same high-pitched tone.

'Remus, are you feeling OK?' asked Sirius.

'Yes, yes, I'm fine, fine. Gotta go.' And he departed at high speed.

'Wonder what's wrong with him?' James said quietly.

'Dunno. Anyway, come on!' answered Sirius, and the five of them left the great hall and went into the grounds. 

The game involving the Whomping Willow was, it transpired, extremely stupid and dangerous. Lily refused to participate, and walked straight back up to the castle with Peter and Katie, who had also refused. James and Sirius, however, enjoying both the risk of injury and being caught, had stayed. 

The Whomping Willow was a very, very vicious tree. It would lash out with its branches at anything in its vicinity, human or not. Nobody had any idea why it had been planted, but figured it must be something important, as Dumbledore would never place something dangerous in the grounds without good reason. The game involving the Willow involved getting as close as you could to the trunk without the tree hitting you. It was risky, but still good fun, until Professor McGonagall came out to the grounds at midday and gave James, Sirius and a group of fifth-year Ravenclaws detention. The six kids were the only ones who had been brave enough to try, though there had been many interested spectators.

James and Sirius decided they might as well go straight to lunch, as they were both hungry after their adventures, and soon found themselves in the Great Hall. They spotted Remus and Lily eating at one end of the table.

'Oh dear, McGonagall gave you detentions, did she? Remus asked, spotting the detention slip in Sirius' hand

'Yeah, she- hold on, how d'you know it was McGonagall? It doesn't say so on this,' he added, indicating the slip.

'Well, er,' said Lily, looking uncomfortable.

'I told McGonagall,' Remus blurted out. 'I'm sorry, it's just I hate that tree.'

The two of them gaped at him for a moment, but then dropped their gazes.

'Ah, it don't matter Remus. We all make mistakes.'

'Yeah, don't worry about it,' said Sirius. 'And anyway, Jamesy-boy and me ('It's _James_,' James interjected) are gonna break a world record,' he added proudly, holding up his slip. 'It's two-all in the first week.'

Lily laughed.

'And it'll be a close contest all the way, no mistake,' added James seriously, causing Lily to laugh so much that she spat out all her pumpkin juice- all over him. Remus and Sirius almost choked laughing, but Lily looked unnaturally serious.

'Oh James, I'm _really _sorry,' she said sincerely.

'Don't worry about it Lily,' said James, beginning to laugh himself.

'I'm sorry.'

***

Sunday was quite an uneventful day, though James managed to take a 3-2 lead in the detention competition (they kept a record in Sirius' notebook. Each was dated and gave the name of the person who set the detention) with his third detention, for stepping on Mrs. Norris' tail. Mrs. Norris was a scrawny cat owned by Argus Filch, the grumpy, miserable school caretaker. He was worse than Professor Thornheart, and had given James a detention for accidentally stepping on Mrs. Norris' tail as he had turned a corner. Apart from that, Sirius, James and Peter spent the afternoon playing Exploding Snap or Chess with each other (Peter always beat James and Sirius). Just as James had lost his fifth game of chess (to Peter), Lily entered the common room with a flourish.

'You two will have to watch out, or I'll overtake you,' she said, pointing to James and Sirius.

'Eh?' Said Sirius sleepily. He had been taking a nap.

'I'VE JUST GOT MY FIRST DETENTION!' she screamed at Sirius. He fell off the couch and it took him a moment to recover.

'Well done,' said James. 'You managed a detention in your first week with only…three hours left of it,' he said, checking his watch.

'But it isn't a _good_ thing.'

'Course it is.' Replied Sirius sleepily. 'You should join our competition.'

'Shut up! I don't _want _a detention. If Snape wasn't so evil I wouldn't have a detention and I wouldn't have to spend Monday afternoon helping the gamekeeper! Goodnight!!

And she ran up to her dormitory, slamming the door behind her.

'Girls! They don't understand that detention is an _art_. And it looks like we'll have company tomorrow; she's helping Hagrid as well.

'Good, I dunno if I could stand two hours with you! Alone!'

'My heart bleeds.'

'Ooh! What's this?' said Remus, who had just entered he common room. 'Has James got a secret crush on someone?'

'Yeah, that's right,' replied Sirius, unable to keep a straight face. 'It's Lily.'

'Oh no! What will I tell my darling Lily now that you three have found out about us?' Replied James, in a tone of mock horror. 'I might have to cancel the wedding,' he continued, struggling to keep a straight face.

'But then we might not get any cake!' added Peter, in the same tone of horror.

All four boys burst out laughing. Chuckling, Remus said:

'Well James, Have fun breaking the news to Lily. I'll see what's left of you in the morning. G'night.' And he trotted up the stairs to the boys' dorm.

'Yeah, I think I'll go to bed as well,' said Sirius, yawning. 'Night.'

'Sleep well,' said Peter, laughing. 'Fancy one more game of chess, James?'

'Why not?'

And so, after Peter had beaten James in an exciting game of chess, both boys retreated to their dorm, to find Sirius, Remus and Frank all fast asleep.

'Aww, doesn't he look cute when he's asleep,' said Peter, pointing to Sirius.

James shuddered.

'You'll give me nightmares about him now, you _evil_ git.' Peter grinned. Within five minutes, all five boys were fast asleep.

***

At breakfast the next morning, the first thing James saw as the post arrived was Mercury, flying towards him with a letter in her beak. Sirius and Lily had them as well. They all said:

Your detentions will take place tonight. You are required to be at Mr. Hagrid's hut at 3.30 pm, following your flying lessons.

_Prof. M. McGonagall_

_ _

__James thoroughly enjoyed Transfiguration that morning. He was the only one who managed to transfigure his needle into a stick insect. Professor McGonagall gave five points to Gryffindor. Sirius, meanwhile, managed to deduct those five points, as he had instead been using his needles to try and engrave 'Snape stinks' onto his desk, when Professor McGonagall had caught him. James, Remus and Peter had all nearly choked laughing.

'Rats,' Sirius had said. 'Didn't even get detention.'

Later that afternoon, instead of Defense against the Dark Arts, the Gryffindors were to start flying lessons, which they had with the Ravenclaws. The weather was cool and sunny, which were perfect flying conditions. Their flying instructor, Madam Hooch, issued them all with a broomstick, and they spent the lesson either learning the basics or speeding around the grounds. James, who belonged to the latter group of people, was the best flyer there, and Madam hooch was impressed with him. Though Sirius was not a great flyer, he still enjoyed the lesson, as he spent it all talking to Peter, resulting in a detention for both of them. Lily was fairly successful after she had learned the basics, but was still a little inclined to shriek whenever James flew past her at high speed, and almost knocking her off her broom. Remus and Peter were both very willing to stay on the ground rather than off it, as both had an incomprehensible (in James' opinion) fear of heights. At 3.30, all the students except for James, Sirius and Lily made their way back up to the castle. The other three, on the other hand, made their way down to Hagrid's hut, where they found him in front of a large patch of pumpkins.

'Alrigh',' he said, as they approached. 'Yeh're Remus' friends, aren't yeh? 

'Yeah,' replied Sirius. 'Sirius, Lily and Jamesy-boy, at your service.

'It's James,' said James angrily. 'Anyway, how can we help you?'

They spent an enjoyable afternoon chatting with Hagrid. All that they had to do in terms of work was water the pumpkins every half-hour, which meant they got to know him. At 7.30, Hagrid walked them back up to the castle, just in time for dinner.

'See yeh later, you three. Come'n visit us any time.'

'See ya, Hagrid,' called Sirius and James cheerfully. Lily, who had been so miserable about receiving the detention, afterwards admitted that she'd enjoyed the afternoon.

And cut. That's all for now, folks, though the next part won't be 

too long in coming. By the way, nothing belongs to me (its all 

JKR's). Don't forget to r/r. 

Ciao.


	3. The Blue Unicorn (3)

So, here we go, part 3. Thanks to all my reviewers (you know who you are). You've made me feel so special. Also, I am now aware that lily's name is Evans, and that James' eyes are (supposedly) brown (I need to check). In this short part, the plot thickens, and Halloween brings some interesting events…

The next few weeks seemed to fly by for James. He was really beginning to enjoy school life. He was extremely surprised to find that despite their constant trouble causing, he and Sirius were the best students in the year. He and Sirius also managed Snape quite to embarrass well one Potions lesson, by pouring Swelling Solution onto his chair when he wasn't looking. The results had caused all the Gryffindors, especially Sirius, James, Remus and Peter, to choke with laughter for the rest of the lesson, and also for Snape's face to turn redder than a beetroot, before Professor Jackson sent him to the Hospital Wing, trying himself not to laugh.

One evening, at the end of September, Sirius and James were sitting in the common room doing their Transfiguration homework. Lily and Peter were playing Exploding Snap with Katie and Heather and Frank was playing chess with Sarah. Remus was visiting Hagrid again. James and Sirius decided to nick themselves some food from the kitchens (which they now did nearly every day) and then go down to Hagrid's hut and see him and Remus.

Twenty minutes later, they found themselves out in the grounds, heading for Hagrid's hut. The air was cold, and through the clouds, James could see a clear, full moon. Suddenly, a bone-chilling howl pierced the night air.

'Must be a wolf,' said Sirius nervously.

'Yeah,' said James. 'C'mon.'

They reached Hagrid's hut and knocked on the door.

'Just a sec',' came Hagrid's voice from inside the hut. 'Alrigh' Sirius, alrigh' James, how are yeh?'

'We're fine Hagrid, how're – Hold on, where's Remus? James asked.

'What're yeh talking about? Ain't seen Remus fer about a week. Why?

'He said he -' Sirius began, but James cut across him.

'It's not important, Hagrid,' he said, giving Sirius a warning look. They chatted to Hagrid for a while, before both heading back to the kitchens for a snack and then back to the common room.

'So, if Remus _wasn't _at Hagrid's,' pondered Sirius. 'Then where was he?'

'And where is he now?' replied James. 'Good question, we'll have to _interrogate _him when he comes back.'

Sure enough, after about half an hour, during which James and Sirius had entertained themselves by plotting tricks on Snape, Remus entered the room. He was very pale, as though he had just seen a ghost, and seemed to be shivering uncontrollably. James had only seen him like this once before, on the first day of term.

'Hi Remus, where have you been?' asked James innocently.

'Um, at Hagrid's, like I told you earlier,' answered Remus quickly, avoiding eye contact with either of them. James and Sirius raised their eyebrows.

'That's interesting,' said Sirius, with a touch of amusement in his voice. 'We were at Hagrid's just now, and he said you hadn't been to see him for about a week. Unless you were _hiding_, of course.'

'Oh all right,' said Remus miserably, and going a shade paler. 'I haven't been at Hagrid's, I've been- I've been-'

'_Where _exactly have you been?' said Sirius coldly.

'I've been visiting my mother,' said Remus quickly. 'She's really ill, and I have to go and visit her sometimes…' his voice tailed away.

'Why didn't you just tell us, you don't think we'd mind, do you? said James.

'No, no it's just that…'

'Just that _what_?' said Sirius coldly. His temper was starting to get the better of him. James noticed this, however.

'Look Remus, it doesn't matter. I think you should get to bed, you look like you could use some sleep. And you, Sirius.'

'Thanks, James, I'll see you in the morning,' said Remus, and he ran straight up to the boys dormitory.

'Interesting,' said James. 'Most interesting.'

'Irritating, you mean,' said Sirius suddenly. 'Visiting his mother, what a load of bull.'

'Look, Sirius,' said James sharply. 'If Remus wanted to tell us what the problem was, he would, but it's obviously private, so just drop it.'

'But he-'

'Sirius!' said James angrily.

'Alright, alright, it doesn't matter.' And they both went up to bed as well, where the other three boys were all asleep. As James was getting ready for bed, he glanced over at Remus, who looked deadly pale still, and his face was contorted with fear. James again got the impression that he had seen Remus _before_ starting Hogwarts. However, before he had worked out where, his head had hit the pillow, and he was fast asleep.

***

Halloween was coming. Hagrid's pumpkins were growing huge for the Halloween feast, and Professors Flitwick and McGonagall could be seen putting up the Halloween decorations. 

One Friday afternoon, James was on his way down to the kitchens to steal some food, when he heard a voice from a room up ahead; Thornheart's office

'Be patient, be patient. Lee has the formula now, it is only a matter of time.' It was Thornheart. 'The fool will never suspect a thing.' James stood there, frozen, as he came out of the door. Quick as a flash, James hid behind a suit of armour, and Thornheart didn't see him. James sat down for a moment, breathing deeply, and wondered what Thornheart could mean. Who could he have been talking to? What _was_ this mysterious potion? What did it do? James stood up, and glanced into the room in which Thornheart had been. His heart missed a beat. Inside, was a coffin, and there was something inside it. Suddenly though, he could hear footsteps approaching. He dived back behind the armour, and saw Professor Jackson enter the room

'No, no, this cannot be,' he heard Jackson whisper. 'It is impossible.'

James had heard enough. Straightening himself up, he tiptoed quietly past the room and off towards the kitchens, his mind racing. Jackson had said that it was 'impossible'. He must have been referring to the thing in the coffin, but what was it? If so, the thing in the coffin may have been a dead person. James shuddered at the thought. But why would it be in Thornheart's office? And why would Jackson be so upset? James abandoned his trip to the kitchens and turned back, walking in the direction of the Gryffindor common room. As he entered, he wondered whom he should tell. He spotted Remus and Peter playing chess and walked over to them.

'Where have you been?' asked Peter, looking up, 'Sirius went to find you.'

'Never mind that, wait 'til you hear this,' he said breathlessly, and he proceeded to recite the events he had just witnessed. When he had finished, both Peter and Remus looked equally shocked.

'You mean to say,' said Peter, in a strangled voice, 'that Thornheart's _killed_ someone?'

'And someone close to Jackson, obviously, but I don't see the connection,' added Remus. 'I mean, what's Thornheart's motive.'

'Good question,' said James. 'I think we need to do a little investigating.'

'But how do we get into Thornheart's office?' asked Remus.

'We could apparate,' said a hopeful voice from behind them. It was Sirius. 'Where have you been Jamesy? And why do you need to get into Thornheart's office?'

'Let the whole world know, why don't you,' said Remus angrily. 'Sit down!'

'Er - have I missed something?' asked Sirius. The others then explained to him what James had seen.

'Jesus Christ!' exclaimed Sirius, when they had finished. 'Thornheart's a _murderer_?'

'Wouldn't put it past him,' said Peter.

'Yes. And now we need to find a way to get into his office,' prompted James.

'Why not apparition?' asked Peter.

'Use your brains, Pete,' said Sirius. 'Firstly, you need a license, secondly, you can't apparate in the castle, and thirdly, Thornheart's bound to have some locking charm on his office door. We need to somehow get in there whilst he is.'

'And how do you propose we do that?' asked Remus.

'I really don't know,' said Sirius.

'You don't _know_?' said Peter, in a tone of mock surprise. 'Sirius Black _doesn't _know something?' he added. James and Remus laughed.

'Very funny,' said Sirius. 'And I suppose you have some brilliant scheme?'

'Well, the only thing we could do is become invisible,' answered Peter.

'That's _brilliant, _Pete,' said Sirius. 'How?'

'I think,' said James, sensing violence, 'that is what we must find out.'

'You mean we have to pay attention in Potions?' Remus moaned.

'Unfortunately, yes,' said James quietly. 'We need to listen in case somebody mentions it when we're throwing things at Snape.'

***

So, in the last few days they had before Halloween, the four boys paid as much attention as possible in their Potions and Charms lessons. However, the work they were covering in Potions was to do with antidotes, and in Charms they were practising making things fly. They avoided asking their teachers about invisibility, as they might get suspicious – why would four first-years want to become invisible except to cause trouble? – That was the way then four friends looked at it, so they began to start researching in the library. The library was a vast place. Thousands upon thousands of books, and they had no idea where to look.

The day before Halloween, the four boys were in the library, when Lily walked in. They hadn't told her or anyone else about their adventures, though they figured, that as she was good at Charms, she might be able to help them.

'Hey, Lily,' James called, beckoning her over, and earning himself a reproving glare from Madam Pince. Lily smiled as she saw them, and made her way over.

'Hi,' she said cheerfully, 'what're you doing?'

'Researching,' said Sirius, and he then told her the whole story. At the end, she looked thunderstruck.

'I don't believe it,' she said, breathlessly. 'I just _don't believe it.'_

'Neither did we,' Remus said. 'Now we're trying to work out the link between this and their first conversation, you know, when you two found the kitchens,' he added, pointing to James and Sirius.

'This mysterious potion, that's the key to the mystery,' said Lily. 'But you didn't hear what it's called?'

'No,' replied James, 'but it can't be for anything good.'

'I'd just like to know _who Thornheart was talking to,' said Peter grimly._

The next day was Halloween. The Gryffindors had no lessons that morning. Remus and James were working together in the common room, and were silently discussing the Thornheart situation. James couldn't help noticing that Remus looked very pale, though he seemed cheerful enough. Later that evening, the whole school filed into the Great Hall for the Halloween feast. All the third-years and above had been to Hogsmeade, the local village, and he could see groups of them chatting happily about their day. As Sirius and James went to sit down, James noticed something (no prizes for guessing what).

'Hey, where's Remus?' he said quietly to Sirius and Peter.

'Oh no! He hasn't gone walkabout _again has he?' replied Peter._

'Maybe his mum really _is sick,' added Sirius._

'Hey, Lily,' said James, leaning over to talk to her, 'you haven't seen Remus, have you?'

'Er – no,' she replied. 'Last time I saw him was with you earlier, in the common room. Why?'

'No reason,' he said, and sat back down.

At that point, Dumbledore stood up and said a few words, before announcing the start of the feast. James, Peter and Sirius ate happily, whilst talking (in low voices) about Thornheart and about Remus.

'Jackson doesn't look too good, does he,' said Peter. He was right, James noticed, because Jackson didn't look his usual cheerful self, and seemed lost in deep thought, staring up at the bewitched ceiling. James looked up as well. The sky was cloudy, though he could see thousands of stars littered across it. The moon was hiding behind a cloud. Just then, Remus entered, his face bloodless, and blanched with absolute terror. Dumbledore stood up so quickly that James saw Professor McGonagall start. Remus approached the table.

'Oh my God!' he said, looking at the ceiling, and then at James. 'I overslept – Oh my God!' The whole hall had now gone silent, and everyone was staring at him. Suddenly, however, Dumbledore grabbed his arm and pulled him out into the Entrance Hall. The whole hall was deadly silent for a minute or two, until the usual wave of babble broke out again.

'What the bloody hell was all that about?' said Sirius. Everybody shrugged.

'Did you see his face? Looked like he'd just killed someone.'

'I hope he's alright,' added James, 'whatever's wrong with him.'

James couldn't, however, get Remus' terrified face out of his head. He continued his meal, talking quietly to Sirius and Peter.

The feast ended, and after McGonagall had said a few words (Dumbledore hadn't returned) all the students were sent to bed. James walked up with all the first-year Gryffindors except for Remus. He wondered where Remus was now, and remembered the terrible look on his face as he had entered the Great Hall. 

James couldn't sleep that night. He was just considering waking Peter up for a game of chess, when he heard a scream from somewhere around him. He got out of bed, and crept down to the common room on his own. There was another scream. It had come from the girls' dorm. Slowly and quietly, he opened the door, and a very strange sight met his eyes. Sarah, Katie, Heather and Michelle were all standing around Lily's bed, and Lily herself was lying on her bed, asleep, but she was writhing and squirming. Sarah motioned to James to come in.

'She woke us all up,' Heather explained. 'She's having a nightmare.' At that point, however, Lily began to speak.

'No, no, not Harry! Not Harry!' she said. 'Please – I'll do anything, please! Not Harry!' James looked around. All four girls were staring at Lily in disbelief and horror. Suddenly, she jerked awake.

'Wha- where am I?' she spotted James. 'Oh James, you're alive! Thank God! Thank God!'

'Lily, what -'

Heather had grabbed Lily's arms and shaken her. Lily opened her eyes properly and looked around at the five people surrounding her, each with an identical look of shock. She couldn't help it. She burst out laughing.

'What's going on?' she said, between giggles, 'has someone died?'

'Who's Harry?' said Michelle quietly.

'What?' Lily replied.

'Who's Harry?' repeated Michelle. 'You were talking about him just now. You said "Not Harry! Not Harry!" who _is_ he?'

'And why were you so relieved that I was alive?' said James.

'What _are_ you all talking about?' she said.

'You just had a nightmare, Lily, we heard you,' said Katie.

'Yeah, I heard you from my dorm, what was it about?' 

'I can't remember,' she said. 'Though I do remember a flash of green light.'

'Well, if she can't remember, there's not much point in worrying about it,' said James, taking charge. 'Let's all just try and get some sleep.' And with that, he got up and headed to the door.

'James?' said Lily quietly.

'Mmm?'

'Thankyou.' James smiled at her, bade the other girls goodnight, and made his way back to his own dorm. It took him a while to get back to sleep, as he kept hearing Lily's screams in his head. Eventually, however, the visions faded, and he fell into a deep sleep.

That morning, James woke quite early, the reason being that he wanted to talk to Remus. He found, however, that Remus' bed was empty, and therefore made his way down to breakfast. He spotted Remus sitting on his own at the far end.

'Hi,' said Remus in a casual way, as James approached. However, his voice shook slightly as he said it, and there was still a pale tinge in his cheeks.

'Hi Remus,' said James, and thinking he might as well get straight to the point, said 'so, what was the problem yesterday?'

'Oh _that_, said Remus, oh, it was just that I was supposed to be visiting my mum, you know, she's ill,' James nodded. 'But I overslept and missed the train. I was just annoyed, but Dumbledore managed to calm me down.' He said all this with great sincerity in his voice, such that James believed him.

'Anyway, don't worry about it, we've got History of Magic to look forward to now,' and he said this whilst doing an accurate impression of Professor Binns, causing Remus to snort with laughter.

'Yeah,' said Remus, still laughing. 'Thanks, James.'

And there we go. I've managed to develop the plot a bit further in my head, at least until the end of this year, so I should hopefully have that finished soon. Thanks again for all the lovely reviews. R/r. Ciao!


	4. The Blue Unicorn (4)

Back again, then. Here's Part 4 (finally).Thanks for all the reviews.James gets an interesting Christmas present…

The Quidditch season was approaching. The first match of the season, Gryffindor versus Slytherin, was to take place on the second weekend of November. James was looking forward to the match, as were Peter and Sirius, as they were all passionate about Quidditch. 

On the Tuesday afternoon before the match, the Gryffindors had a Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson. They were learning about how to treat werewolf bites.

'Can anybody tell me which plant is used to obtain a cure for werewolf bites?' barked Professor Thornheart. Remus and Sirius raised their hands.

'Black?'

'Is it the – er, Werewolf plant?' said Sirius, causing the whole class to snort with laughter.

'Five points from Gryffindor, Black,' said Thornheart, in a long-suffering voice. 'Lupin?'

'The Wolfsbane Aconite,' said Remus firmly. 'The sap is used to make a antidote, which stops the victim becoming a werewolf.' He said this with such conviction that the whole class stared. Even Thornheart looked startled.

'Correct Lupin, five points to Gryffindor. Yes, the sap of the plant makes an antidote known as the Aconite vaccine, which is very powerful, and protects the victim, though it can only be injected within an hour of being bitten.' The lesson continued, and Thornheart made them copy down ways to treat bites. About halfway through the lesson, however, there was a knock on the door. 

'Come in,' said Thornheart. It was Jackson. 

'Frederic, I have a problem.' Thornheart motioned to him, and they both went outside the classroom. James approached the door; he wanted to know what they were talking about. However, by the time he was by the door, they had almost finished their conversation. He only caught the last few words.

'The Blue Unicorn, that's the answer,' he heard Jackson whisper, before saying a hurried goodbye and walking off. James turned, trying to get back to his seat before Thornheart came back into the room.

'Potter! Why were you out of your seat?'

'I was, er, borrowing Peter's quill, mine's broken,' he said, whilst secretly snapping the nib of his quill under his desk. 'See?' he said, showing it to Thornheart.

'Potter, if you're going to lie, at least make a decent attempt at it,' he said, sighing. 'Five points from Gryffindor, and borrow Black's quill.'

'Almost,' whispered Sirius, laughing.

On Saturday morning, James, Peter and Sirius made their way down to the Quidditch pitch, with Lily and Katie - they were now best friends. Remus was ill, and had to stay in the Hospital Wing. The top House Quidditch team for years had been the Ravenclaw team; they had a superb seeker, a sixth year called Jake Smith. The five friends managed to find themselves some seats, and sat chatting unconcernedly whilst the stadium filled up around them. The stadium itself was a vast place. Hundreds of seats were raised high above the ground, so that spectators could see exactly what was going on, and at either end of the pitch, three golden poles, fifty feet high, with hoops on the end. Whilst the stadium was filling up, Sirius and James were teaching Lily the rules of the game.

'See those hoops?' said Sirius sincerely. 'Yeah, what they've gotta do is grab the opposition players, and throw them through the hoops.' Lily looked horrified, and Sirius burst out laughing. He stopped when Katie hit him.

'What are they really for?' she asked James pleadingly.

'The Chasers have to get the Quaffle through them, to score points. The Keeper tries to stop them. The Quaffle's kinda like a red, er, football, is it?'

'Yeah,' said Lily, laughing.

'Anyway, the Bludgers, the small black balls, try and knock people off ('That's terrible'). The Beaters have to defend their teammates and tried and knock of their opponents. That's why they have a small bat, to hit the Bludgers. And the Seeker tries to catch the Snitch, a tiny, very fast golden ball with wings. If they do, the game ends, and they win their team and extra hundred and fifty points. Understand?'

'Sort of … I'll probably pick it up.'

'Here they come,' said Sirius excitedly. Down on the ground, fourteen players - seven in scarlet robes, and seven in green, had just come onto the pitch, accompanied by Madam Hooch, who would be refereeing. After the two captains had shaken hands (rather unwillingly, in James opinion), all fifteen people mounted their brooms, and after a short blow of the whistle, they were off.

'The Quaffle taken by Thorpe, of Slytherin – nice pass to Wilson. Wilson takes it, heading toward the Gryffindor goalposts, but no, he's stopped by a Bludger.' David Woods, a Ravenclaw fourth-year, was providing the commentary for the match. 

'Carter, now, for Gryffindor, takes the Quaffle, dodges a Bludger, sent at her by the Slytherin Beater, Roberts. Carter still has it - approaching the Slytherin goalposts, Keeper Lacey dives, and Carter squares it – GRYFFINDOR SCORE! A lovely move, finished by Chaser Ben Coates.' The game continued, and after half an hour, the score was sixty-all.

'Coates in possession now, plays it to Vaughn – no, dispossessed by Chaser Wilson. Plays it to Bennett, heading towards the goals – Brown dives – misses – Slytherin score – damn.' James laughed – nobody liked Slytherin - except the Slytherins themselves. At that moment, however, both Seekers suddenly put on a huge spurt of speed – they had seen the Snitch!

'And the two Seekers neck and neck now – they're closing in on the Snitch – surely the game's nearly over – yes, yes, and – oh –' Woods' voice was immediately drowned out by Professor McGonagall's; He had sworn loudly, because the Slytherin Seeker, O'Brien, had got the Snitch – Slytherin had won. Sirius proceeded to recite many foul obscenities (far too strong for your delicate ears), and Peter and Lily looked very downcast. James could see Lestrange, Avery and Snape celebrating. It was a sickening and almost unreal sight, seeing Snape smile. Snape caught his eye, and pointed at him, laughing. James gave him a sarcastic smile and wave, before leaving the pitch with Sirius and the others. Sirius, Peter and James decided to go and see Remus in the Hospital Wing; Lily and Katie went back to the common room. 

When they arrived, Madam Pomfrey, the matron, told them they could see him for ten minutes. He did look very pale.

'How are you, Remus?' asked James soothingly.

'Well, my head hurts, I've got a temperature, my legs are aching and I haven't slept for three days. You?'

'Can't complain,' said James, shrugging. 

'We brought you all your homework!' said Peter, then seeing Remus' horrified look, laughed, and said 'Only joking, but we did bring you food.'

'The house-elves are very generous, especially in emergency cases,' said Sirius, grinning.

After five minutes, Madam Pomfrey bustled over and told them to leave. They made their way back up to the Gryffindor common room – via the kitchens. They were strangely always hungry when walking to the common room. On entering, they found the girls immersed in a highly exciting game of Exploding Snap. Peter said he was feeling tired, and went upstairs for a nap, whilst James and Sirius asked the girls if they could join in.

'I'm not sure,' said Lily slowly. 'What do you think, Kate?'

'I don't really know. Sarah?'

'Good question. Heather?'

'I don't have a clue. Michelle?'

'No idea. Lily?'

'I'm not sure. What do you think, Kate?' 

'Very funny,' said Sirius sarcastically. 'Just tell us, can we play?'

'Well,' said Lily, 'I should check with Kate.'

'No. With Sarah.' All five of them burst out laughing.

'Forget it James, let's just go upstairs,' said Sirius, looking at the girls as though they were all insane.

'Fair enough; we could do some more research.'

Ever since Jackson had mentioned the Blue Unicorn in their Transfiguration lesson, the four boys had been trying to find out what its relevance was. It seemed to be extremely rare, or possibly a codename, because they didn't find it mentioned in any books on unicorns. They had looked in _The A-Z of Unicorns_ and _Of Unicorns and Men_, and many more besides, but they couldn't find anything about it anywhere. James felt that if they could discover what the Blue Unicorn was, they could find out what Thornheart was up to; he still hadn't forgotten the coffin in Thornheart's office. After a few hours of searching feverishly through what felt to James like half the library, Remus came and joined his three friends. He still looked slightly pale, but he seemed a lot more cheerful than he had earlier on.

'Afternoon,' he said, on entering. 'No luck, eh? You know who we should ask?'

'Who?' said James curiously.

'Hagrid. He seems to know a bit about magical creatures – he could tell us something.'

'Yes,' said Sirius slowly, 'but what if Thornheart finds out that we know?'

'Hagrid wouldn't tell him – would he?'

'Wouldn't bet against it,' said Peter. 'He trusts the staff.'

'Probably ain't worth the risk, Remus.'

'Fair enough.'

The four of them decided to simply continue searching through books, in the hope of coming across the Blue Unicorn, but it seemingly didn't exist. Sirius had voiced the opinion that it could be extinct, but James squashed this theory by pointing out that in that event, Thornheart would not be able to use it.

Meanwhile, whilst this search was in progress, Christmas was coming. At the end of November, Ravenclaw flattened Hufflepuff in their Quidditch match, despite dreadful conditions, which meant they were leading the House Championship. James, Remus and Lily had all opted to remain at Hogwarts over the Christmas holidays; James' parents were visiting distant relatives. Sirius, Peter, and all the other first year Gryffindors, however, were going home for the holidays. James was slightly disappointed that Sirius and Peter were going, but he still had Remus for company - that was good enough.

The holidays began a week and a half before Christmas. James and Remus now had the dormitory to themselves, and the common room was almost empty. They spent the days leading up to Christmas either in the common room or out in the grounds, challenging people to snowball fights – the snow had been falling non-stop since the start of the holidays. They were also very impressed with themselves when they managed to find two secret passages within the school; they were getting to know it well now – Hogwarts was not an easy place to find your way around. They were still looking for any mention of the Blue Unicorn here and there, but weren't so bothered about it at the moment. They spent quite a bit of time with Lily, as her friends had all gone home, but hadn't yet told her about the unicorn.

Professors McGonagall and Flitwick, meanwhile, had been busy decorating the castle. It looked fantastic. McGonagall had transfigured a number of non-drip snowmen around the school, which sang Christmas carols every time somebody approached. Flitwick, meanwhile, had charmed the corridors, so that they glowed with a mysterious light. 

The Great Hall, meanwhile, looked even more spectacular. Inside it there stood ten huge Christmas trees, decorated with glittering pixies and fairies, tiny icicles and candles. Some also had a live owl perched at the top. These pixies had also taken residence around the ceiling of the Hall, just below the enchanted ceiling, and they lit it with a dazzling blue light. Professor Dumbledore had also cunningly put enchanted mistletoe under many of the doorframes, so James and Remus took cautions not to walk through doors if there was a Slytherin girl approaching. This mistletoe was enchanted, as it would glow brightly if two people walked underneath it. Lily had already walked through a door at the same time as Snape, so she too was watching her step. James had almost choked laughing when he had witnessed Professor McGonagall and Professor Thornheart walk through a door together, and seen their embarrassed faces, as they had continued in opposite directions.

Christmas Eve found James, Lily and Remus in the common room playing Exploding Snap and toasting crumpets they had 'borrowed' from the kitchens. It was, however, getting increasingly risky, going to the kitchens all the time. James and Sirius had already received a detention each from Thornheart when he had caught them on their way back from there. Pupils were strictly not allowed to go into the kitchens – for one thing, students were not supposed to know its whereabouts, but James and Sirius, always willing to break the rules, still ventured there on a regular basis. James was brooding over this when the pack of cards in front of him suddenly exploded, singing his eyebrows.

'Tut tut, James,' said Lily, laughing. 'That's what you get for not paying attention.'

'Very funny,' said James acidly.

'Brrr, I'm cold. Remus, can I snuggle up to you?'

'Certainly,' said Remus, grinning.

'Aww, you make a cute couple,' said James, laughing.

'What? Didn't I tell you that Lily and I were madly in love?' said Remus, sounding shocked.'

'We're a modern day Romeo and Juliet,' said Lily sleepily.

'You've just got to hope that Sirius doesn't hear about this,' James continued, still laughing.

'Ah, that philistine can not stand in the way of our love, James,' said Remus, in the same tone of sincerity.

'Yes, well, you stay here, I need to get something,' James said, at the same time wondering where his camera was. He raced up to his dorm, found the camera amongst his robes, and crept silently back down the stairs to the common room. He stopped when he reached Remus and Lily, and had to fight back his laughter. They had, apparently, both fallen asleep whilst he had been upstairs, and Lily was now lying across Remus, her head on his lap. He was absent-mindedly stroking her hair, and was leaning his head on the back of the chair. Trying carefully not to wake them up, James got into a good position, positioned his camera, and took a photo of them. Remus stirred.

'Eh? Wassat?' he said. James burst out laughing. Remus noticed the camera.

'You didn't,' he said.

'Oh yes I did,' said James. 'I can't wait to show this to the others.'

'What's going on?' said Lily sleepily; she had just woken up.

'Our dear friend James has been having fun with his camera,' said Remus.

'You didn't,' said Lily.

'Wanna bet?' said James, still laughing. 'Snape will be heartbroken when he sees this.'

'Ah, me and Remus do not mind people finding out about our undying love,' she said, still sounding half-asleep.

'Oh. Never mind then. Don't you want to go up to your beds? It's only … two hours until Christmas,' he said, checking his watch.

'Fine,' said Lily, finally getting off Remus. I'll see you in the morning. Oh, James, by the way -'

'What?'

'Can I see that photo when it's developed?'

'Anything for a lady.' Lily grinned, bade them goodnight, and began walking over to her dorm.

'Hey, Lily,' said James, suddenly thinking of something. She turned. 'How d'you fancy sleeping in our dorm tonight? You can have Sirius' bed.' Lily grimaced. 'You wouldn't want to be on your own at Christmas, and you can be near Remus.' Lily threw a pillow at him, but agreed that she would come to their dorm – she didn't want to be alone.

'As long as I'm not in Sirius' bed,' she warned them.

'We'll arrange something.'

Half an hour later, the three of them were all up in the boys' dorm. Lily had opted to sleep in Peter's bed – she said it smelled much nicer than Sirius'. They were all happily anticipating the next day. James had made Lily promise not to get into Remus' bad. They both looked very disappointed. By eleven, all three were fast asleep.

James woke quite late on Christmas morning. He noticed a small pile of presents at his, Remus' and Peter's beds, though the ones at Peter's bed were evidently for Lily. Too impatient to wait for the others to wake up, he grabbed two pillows and aimed them both perfectly at his friends. 

'Quick, wake up, there's a fire!' he said urgently. That did the trick. Within a few seconds both Remus and Lily were wide-awake.

'Where?' said Remus worriedly.

'There's a fire in my heart,' James sang, 'waiting to open these presents.' Lily laughed loudly, and Remus looked at him as though worried about his sanity.

'Fair enough,' said Remus worriedly, and the three of them began opening their presents. James had lots of sweets – Chocolate Frogs from Peter, Every-Flavour Beans from Sirius – his favourites – and some of Droobles Best Blowing Gum from Remus. Remus was pleased with his present from James – a book entitled _Hogwarts: A History_. Remus loved reading, and was fascinated by this book. James had got Lily a book called _Entering the Wizarding World_, and she had got him _The Quidditch Teams of Europe_, which he was very happy about. He now only had two presents left. The first was a large box of fudge from his aunt and uncle, and their greetings. James picked up the final present. It was very light. He opened it, and gasped loudly.

'What?' said Lily and Remus together.

'I don't believe it,' he said hoarsely. 'I just _don't _believe it.'

'What is it?' said Remus curiously

'It's my dad's Invisibility Cloak!'

'Your dad's Invisibility _what_?' said Lily, sounding confused.

'Invisibility _Cloak_,' James corrected her. 'Hey, there's a note –'

_Dear James _(it said), _Merry Christmas_!_ Here is your Christmas present_;_ it is time it was passed on to you_._ This cloak is very valuable_;_ it once belonged to my grandfather_._ Take good care of it_._ I hope you enjoy it as much as I did_. _Your mother sends her love_._ Have a great Christmas_.

_Dad_.

'Look, you two,' James said excitedly. 'Look what it does.' He threw the Cloak over himself, and he immediately disappeared. He was delighted with the looks of envy and surprise on Lily and Remus' faces.

'Where are you?' said Lily uncertainly.

'Just behind you,' said James, laughing. 'This Cloak is fantastic! Remus, d'you want a go?'

'Yes. Yes I do.' James lifted the Cloak slightly, allowing Remus to get under it as well. As soon as he was under, James dropped it again, and both of them disappeared from sight.

'This is weird,' said Lily fervently. 'I don't have a clue where you are. You should look into the mirror.' They did so, and James thought it was a very strange sensation, standing in front of a mirror and not being able to see his reflection.

'Hey, Lily, come under here,' said James, lifting the Cloak slightly again. The Cloak was very large, so that three of them could easily fit under it.

'I can't wait to show this to Sirius and Peter,' said James.

'We could have some fun with this, you know,' said Remus. 'Just think, we can go absolutely _anywhere_ without being seen.' His eyes were shining, and James could see that he was highly excited. And, as James thought about it, he saw that Remus was absolutely right - this Cloak had limitless possibilities.

'Speaking of fun,' he said, ' I think we could have some fun showing this to Peter and Sirius –' Remus and Lily grinned widely.

'I expect we'll think of something,' said Remus, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Still discussing all of the places that they could go to unnoticed around the Castle, the three of them made their way down to the Great Hall for Christmas dinner. The Christmas dinner was fantastic. James, Remus and Lily sat on their own at the Gryffindor table, eating, talking and pulling wizard crackers. James enjoyed watching Lily start as she pulled a cracker with him – she had always used muggle crackers. 

After dinner, the three of them returned to the common room, fetched the Cloak, and had a fantastic time out in the grounds throwing snowballs at people from underneath it. They returned some time later, and went up to the common room, still discussing the brilliance of the Invisibility Cloak. 

They decided to turn in early, for it had been quite a busy day for them. It had been the best Christmas day James had ever had. In bed, he and Remus laughed at the prospect of showing Sirius the Cloak – Sirius would probably hyperventilate – he loved breaking rules, and the Cloak was the ideal way to do so. They also laughed at the possibilities of what this Cloak could allow them to do to Snape. Before long, however, they stopped talking, and both fell back into a deep sleep.

End. Review?

Ciao


	5. The Blue Unicorn (5)

An R/L fic? That's a good idea… Only kidding – I couldn't do that to James (he's the sensitive type). In this fic I'm going more for realism than romance – why shouldn't they just be friends? It's a bit unrealistic falling in love at 11, and yet I can't see them contemplating murder either. If you think about it, the whole thing'll take me about twenty years to finish – I wanted to do all seven years. Maybe I'll leave romance for five years or so... We'll see. Anyway I thank you solemnly for the reviews (if you gave them to me). If you didn't… never mind (yet). Here's part 5…

The rest of the holidays were fun for Lily, James and Remus. They spent practically all of it exploring Hogwarts and the grounds under the Cloak. By the end of the holidays, they were getting to know the geography of Hogwarts very well. On New Year's Day, Remus had to go and visit his mother; she was still sick, so Lily and James were the only remaining first-years. They got on very well – James tended to get on well with everyone that wasn't a Slytherin – lucky for Snape that he had gone home for the holidays – they had plans for him involving the Cloak. They spent their time having snowball fights (the snow still hadn't cleared), or in the common room, playing chess or exploding snap. James was crestfallen to find that Lily was better than him at chess – she told him she had had practice playing her older sister, Petunia. Unless James' eyes were deceiving him, he could have sworn that Lily looked less-than-joyful when her sister was mentioned.

'Let me guess,' said James suddenly. 'You don't get on well with your sister.'

'It's a hate-hate relationship,' said Lily, and then realising what he had said, she said 'How did you know that?'

'Elementary, my dear Lily. When your sister is mentioned, there is pure hatred in your pretty eyes.' Lily stared at him, but he seemed not to notice.

'Very clever, Sherlock,' she said, grinning. James bowed.

Sirius returned three days before the start of term – two days before anybody else. On entering the common room, he found it to be empty. 'Strange,' he thought 'I wonder where Lily, Remus and James are.' He carried on upstairs to the dorm, with the idea of unpacking his trunk. As he approached the door, it creaked open in front of him. Bemused, he entered the room. It was completely empty – no James, no Remus. He sat down on his bed, and the dormitory door slammed shut – what was going on? He approached the door, but there was no one around. He turned back to look at his bed, and his trunk had disappeared! He was starting to get worried now – since when could ghosts lift heavy trunks?

'Hello?' he called nervously. There was no reply. 'Hello?' he called, louder this time. Unless his ears were deceiving him, he was sure he could hear a faint whispering sound.

'Ssssiirriiuusssss,' it said, in a very low whisper.

'Who's there?' said Sirius, the panic evident in his voice. Under the Cloak, meanwhile, Lily and James were both fighting to hold off their laughter. James mouthed to Lily 'after three. Three – two – one – now!' They both threw of the Cloak and shouted as loud as they could. Sirius collapsed in a heap. He had fainted. James and Lily burst out laughing.

'Oops,' said Lily, holding off he laughter. 'I think we overdid it a bit.' And she burst out laughing again. James, meanwhile, was crouched over Sirius.

'He's fine,' he said, also trying to control his laughter. 'Maybe we were a bit cruel.'

'A bit?!' came a voice from the floor suddenly; Sirius had regained consciousness. 'You evil gits! You call yourselves frien – what's that?' He had just spotted the Invisibility Cloak.

'This, my dear Sirius, is the secret of our future success. Observe!' He threw the Cloak over himself and disappeared. Sirius looked stunned.

'An Invisibility Cloak,' he whispered hoarsely. 'How did you get _that_?

'Family heirloom.'

'You lucky git. I've always wanted one of them.'

'And now you have,' said James, materialising in front of Lily and throwing the Cloak over Sirius.

'You mean I can keep it?' said Sirius weakly.

'No, you plank. We can all use it, that's what I meant.'

'Of course,' said Sirius, now grinning. Hey, where's Remus?'

'Visiting his mum again,' said Lily.

'Does he know about this?' said Sirius, pointing at the Cloak.

'Err, no,' said James, winking at Lily.

'Oh goody,' said Sirius, the mischievous glint back in his eye. 'Does that mean we can have fun scaring him as well?'

'Why not?' said James, trying to stop himself from laughing. 'I think he's coming back today.' 

After getting over the shock of his extraordinary return, Sirius described to them how his Christmas had been.

'Most of my presents were good,' he told them. 'I got this book off my aunt, _Complex Potions – _sheknew that I like Potions. I got your, er, 'utensils', as well. Using those and that Cloak, we can have lots of fun.' The look in his eye was identical to that of Remus' on Christmas morning. 

'What're your "utensils", Siri?' asked Lily – She had a strange habit of calling people by nickname. Sirius grinned guiltily at James, and fished something out of his pocket. It was a small leather pouch, and inside it were five of the strangest implements Lily had ever seen.

'This knife can undo any knot – it's extra sharp, and enchanted. This is an enchanted candle; it's very powerful ('It's kinda like a torch,' said Lily). This is for engraving things; this is Floo powder in a small capsule ('Good for a quick getaway,' said James) and this is the best one.'

'What does it do?' she asked curiously. 'And what's Floo powder?'

'It's a key. It can undo almost all locks – _almost _all, mind you – it's kinda like the Alohomora Charm in key form. And Floo powder is powder that can transport you via fireplaces. Lily looked intrigued.

'James is so thoughtful,' Sirius carried on. 'How could he know that I wanted The Magician's breaking-in Kit?'

'That's not what it's called,' said James. 'But I'm glad you like it.'

'Like it? This is great! Add that Cloak to it and – well – Snape had better watch out.' James and Lily laughed. Suddenly, they heard a voice from outside the common room. Somebody was saying, or shouting, rather, the Gryffindor password.

'THUNDERBOLT!' they heard Remus shout. They raced down to the common room in time to hear the Fat Lady's reply.

'I'm sorry,' she was saying, 'I was just taking a nap. No need to shout.'

'Quick,' said Sirius. 'Grab the Cloak.' James already had it, and he threw it over them, Lily still shaking with silent laughter. Remus entered the common room, looking morose. Lily suddenly sneezed, but silently. Remus looked up. His eyes travelled over to where the three of them were standing. He sighed, and began walking over to them. He then nonchalantly pulled the Cloak off them. 

'Nice to see you to,' he said. 'Hi, Sirius, did you have a good holiday?'

'You liars,' said Sirius, laughing, to James and Lily. 'You said he hadn't seen the Cloak.'

'Did we?' said James slowly, in mock surprise. 'I don't remember that. Do you, Lily?'

'No, in fact, who is he –' 

'Very funny,' said Sirius acidly.

'You mean he thought I didn't know about the Cloak?' Remus laughed. 'I was the second person to try it.'

'How's your mum?' asked Sirius innocently.

'She's not too bad. Still ill, though. I think she was glad to see me.'

'We're sorry she's ill, Remus,' said Lily sincerely.

'Not your fault,' he replied sombrely, and then, perking up, he said 'Now, anyone fancy an undetected trip to the kitchens?

Sirius had, as James and Remus had predicted, developed a deep affection for the Invisibility Cloak, and tended to have withdrawal symptoms if he was away from it for more than half an hour. James agreed that it was the best birthday present he could ever have wished for. Their prime use of the Cloak was using it to sneak down to the kitchens. They agreed not to directly play tricks on Snape, like hitting him (Sirius suggested that), as he was likely to go to Dumbledore and have the Cloak confiscated. They instead entertained themselves by throwing snowballs at him from underneath it, as he could mistake it for another one gone off-course.

Peter and the rest arrived back at the Castle the day before term started. They decided, after giving Sirius such a shock, to be gentler in revealing the Cloak to Peter. He was just as impressed as they were, and was also envious, as he had only been given sweets ('I wonder why?' said Sirius). Sirius agitated the rest that evening by badgering them about his Transfiguration homework. James, Remus and Lily, who had all done their homework a few days into the holiday (when they were bored), were having an exciting game of exploding snap, with Katie, Sarah and Frank. Michelle and Heather were locked in a 'deeply important', as they put it, chess game. All in all, the atmosphere was a pleasant one in the Gryffindor common room.

The next day, term started, and Hogwarts returned to its usual hustle and bustle. The teachers had been refreshed over the holidays, and were ready to resume their usual teaching patterns. The students were ready to get back into their intensive working schedules – well, most of them. James and Sirius still remained top of their year. James was becoming very talented in Transfiguration, as was Sirius in Potions. Ironically, the two best students of Potions in the year were Sirius and Snape, and, despite the fact that they loathed each other, Jackson made them work together, as they were such diligent workers, or at least, that was the theory. The truth was, their lack of camaraderie led to trouble for them both. In no less than two lessons, Sirius managed to earn three detentions, and Snape managed to lose twenty points from Slytherin. This made Sirius very happy.

'I take the lead in our competition,' he laughed, 'and Snape loses twenty points for the rat-house.' Sirius had an odd tendency to refer to Slytherin as 'the rat-house.' He claimed it was to do with physical appearance.

They all had a good laugh on the weekend after term restarted. James had managed to develop his photo of Remus and Lily, and keeping his promise, showed it to them before showing it to Sirius (who was very interested in what kept making all three of them laugh).

'Beautiful,' laughed Remus. 'We should frame it and put it onto the common room wall.'

'That's right, and put little hearts around it,' said James.

'We'll see…' said Lily apprehensively. James and Remus laughed.

'We're only joking Lil',' said Remus, laughing. 'We need to put it somewhere where Sirius will never find it.'

'Knowing Sirius, the common room wall would be good enough,' said James light-heartedly.

Peter had pointed out to James a very good use for the Cloak – using it to sneak into Thornheart's office and try and find something incriminating. However, that evening, the four of them found that they couldn't get into Thornheart's office as it had an unbreakable charm on it. Even Sirius' key wouldn't work.

'Damn!' he said, as he tried for the third time to unlock the door.

'There's no use,' said James quietly to his three friends. 'We have to go in when Thornheart is in there.'

The next day, James tried again, on his own, when Thornheart was in the office himself – it would be too risky for all four of them to be in there at the same time as the Professor. He had to be extra careful not to arouse suspicion, but Thornheart was engrossed in marking work. Despite this, however, he found nothing. There was no sign of the coffin, or any mention of the potion, or of anything remotely involved with the incident at all. He reported his findings – or lack of them – to Sirius, Peter and Remus, who were all very disappointed – all four had been determined to find out what Thornheart was up to.

Meanwhile, they had still had no luck with their research of the blue unicorn. There had been nothing about it in Thornheart's office. Thornheart himself, in the meantime, was acting more vindictively than ever. They agreed that he must not of been able to find the ingredient associated with the supposedly extinct creature. Jackson, on the other hand, seemed perfectly cheerful, and it didn't take a genius for them to work out why – James hadn't forgotten the look on his face when he had visited Thornheart's office three months ago. 

James was definitely getting accustomed to Hogwarts, after his enjoyable first term. He and Sirius were now almost like brothers, as they did practically everything together. He also had two great friends inside Remus and Peter, and got on very well with Lily, Frank and all the other Gryffindors. He was, of course, averse to all Slytherins, but he was on good terms with other students in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. He found nothing to really upset him within the castle. He had friends, he enjoyed his lessons, he had no trouble with homework, and he liked most of his teachers - and vice-versa. 

The next few weeks were fairly uneventful for James and the others. They still hadn't managed to find out anything about the blue unicorn, and were beginning to give up hope. January faded imperceptibly into February, and the next match in the house Quidditch tournament was approaching. Slytherin were playing Ravenclaw – on the first weekend in February, and Gryffindor would play Hufflepuff on the second weekend. The big upset preceding the Slytherin-Ravenclaw match was that Jake Smith, the Ravenclaw seeker, had injured his leg in a skiing accident – he was a muggle-born. Therefore, Ravenclaw would be without their captain and star player, so the odds were on Slytherin winning. 

That Saturday proved that this theory was accurate – Slytherin flattened Ravenclaw. Ravenclaw, however, were still in the lead in the House Cup Championship, leading Slytherin and Gryffindor by forty and fifty points respectively.

The day of the match dawned on the second weekend of February. Every student from the third year up was spending the day in Hogsmeade, the local wizarding village, on the Saturday, a rare treat from the teachers. Therefore, the Gryffindor – Hufflepuff Quidditch game was to be played on the Sunday.

James and the others spent an enjoyable afternoon on Saturday exploring the grounds. As most of the student body of the school was visiting Hogsmeade, not to mention quite a few teachers, the grounds were empty. Besides, most first and second years were content to remain inside their warm common rooms than be outside in the cold grounds. Sirius was quite happy to taunt the Whomping Willow, but neither Remus nor Peter wanted to. They instead prepared themselves a mini-feast, back inside the common room, with some help from the kitchens, and invited all the first and second years. There was still a little Christmas spirit left in the common room, even two months after Christmas. James and Sirius got to know some of the second years. One boy asked them whether they were brothers, and they burst out laughing. Everybody seemed to be of that opinion. It was, however, a justified opinion, as, around Hogwarts, if you saw one of them, then the other wasn't likely to be far away.

The next day, subsequent to breakfast, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter made their way down to the Quidditch pitch with the rest of the first year Gryffindors to watch the match. As with the previous match, the Quidditch match brought with it an atmosphere of tension and excitement. By eleven-thirty, nearly the whole school was packed into the huge stadium. From where he was sitting, James could make out the greying beard of Albus Dumbledore, and he could see the huge figure of Hagrid sitting below him. He caught Hagrid's eye, and gave him a thumbs-up. Hagrid winked. He could also see, though he was disinclined to look, Snape and his gang, a few rows away. He caught Snape's eye and Snape swore at him. James simply laughed at Snape, who went bright red. Snape had a very quick temper.

Before too long, however, the match was ready to commence. Fourteen players came onto the pitch from opposite ends of the pitch. Seven players were dressed in the scarlet Gryffindor robes, and the other seven in the canary-yellow Hufflepuff robes. Madam Hooch, the referee, had a jet-black robe. After the captains had shaken hand, the players mounted their brooms and they were off. Fifteen brooms rose high into the air. David Woods was again providing the commentary.

'The Quaffle taken immediately then, by Vaughn of Gryffindor. Plays a nice pass to Coates – good one-two there. Oh – no, a Bludger unseats him – nice work by Hufflepuff Beater McCutcheon. The Quaffle is retaken by Coates, however, he's heading towards the goals – Keeper Davies comes out to meet him – FOUL!' The Hufflepuff Keeper had grabbed Coates by his ankles and tried to unseat him. Madam Hooch's whistle rang out, and Gryffindor were awarded a penalty.

'Coates will take it – and he scores, no problem – ten-zero to Gryffindor.' Play resumed, and after an hour, the score was eighty to thirty, and yet there had been no sign of the Snitch.

'So,' said a drawling voice from behind where they were sitting, 'what d'you reckon the odds are of Gryffindor winning?'

'Probably,' said James, without looking up, 'the same as the odds that you never wash your hair, Snape.' Sirius, Remus and Peter laughed.

'How can we help you, slimy?'

'Very funny, Potter,' spat Snape. 'I'll have you know I take a shower every day.'

'What are you trying to do, Snape! Fill my mind with disturbing images? I don't really care, though I am surprised there are showers in the Slytherin common room.' He had said all this without looking up, but when he did, he was face to face with an angry-looking Snape. Behind him were Avery and Lestrange. James loved winding people up – he didn't have a temper at all.

'C'mon,' said Snape resentfully to his companions, 'let's leave the losers.'

'Yeah, c'mon,' said James, mimicking Snape. 'Let's let the losers leave.' Snape shot him a look of pure venom, and all four of them burst out laughing.

'He looked like he'd swallowed a lemon,' said Peter.

'Poor Snapey,' said Sirius. 'So ugly, so friendless, and so brainless.'

'Except in Potions,' Remus pointed out.

'Thanks for reminding me,' said Sirius, now looking as though he'd swallowed a lemon.

While this confrontation had been going on, the Quidditch match was still being played. All of a sudden, David Woods' voice rang out.

'And Beaufort has seen the Snitch! She's closing in, she'd being caught by Pugh and - and - GRYFFINDOR WIN!! Nancy Beaufort gets the Snitch, and Gryffindor win, by two hundred and fifty points to fifty.' All around the stadium, Gryffindors were cheering loudly. James shot a triumphant look at Snape, who turned away. 

There was a party in the common room that night. There was no major reason; Gryffindor were now only tied in second for the House Championship – it was just that Gryffindors liked parties. James and Sirius provided food and drinks, much to the delight of the other students. Even though they were only first years, they were the centre of attention. A group of fifth-years were impressed with how they had managed to find the kitchens in their first week, and find three secret passages within the castle. James made sure, however, not to tell anyone about the Cloak.

By midnight, nearly everyone had gone to bed. Only James and Peter were still left down in the common room, playing chess. Suddenly, they heard a strangled cry from above them.

'That's Sirius,' remarked James. 'Wonder what's going on.' All of a sudden, they heard footsteps on the stairs leading to their dorm. Remus and Sirius came into the room, looking breathless. Sirius was holding a large book.

'We've found it,' said Remus breathlessly.

'What?' asked James.

'The blue unicorn.'

Time to end, methinks. Ah, so what is the mysterious blue unicorn? You'll have to wait and see. My holidays start in approximately ten days, so I'll have more time to write part 6 and maybe 7.Please review? Ciao.


	6. The Blue Unicorn (6)

Ah! Once more unto the breach, dear friends. Part 6 is here (at last). Thank you kindly for the reviews (you're all *so***** kind). I kinda know where this story's going now. I've also thought a bit about year 2… I think I'll call it 'the werewolf' (why do you think that is?) that's a work in progress at the moment. Anyway, less babbling, more story…

'Listen to this,' said Sirius breathlessly. He was holding _Complex Potions._

_ _

_Two of the most difficult potions to fabricate are those that contain the dust of a blue unicorn. This mythical beast is extremely rare, and there are known to currently be two of them left in the world. The blue unicorn is extremely powerful, much more so than its cousins. The dust of a blue unicorn is contained in its horn, and is practically impossible to extract, as the unicorn is such a fast and magical creature. The only known sample of the dust is in the possession of Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Supposedly there was once a blue unicorn within the Forbidden Forest, which is now extinct. The two potions that are procured from blue unicorn dust are the Retrovivation Potion, and the Mortefermata Potion. Each potion requires one sample of the dust to work. The former is a life-reversal potion – the living will die and the dead will live. The latter is a life-preserving potion – it can block the killing curse, though the effects last only for a year. These potions are possibly the two most difficult potions to formulate, and only an expert, with the correct ingredients, could have any hope of producing it. As such, the full lists of ingredients for the two potions are unidentified. These are some of those ingredients known to be essential…_

_ _

After this paragraph there followed the most complicated list of ingredients James had ever seen. Blue unicorn dust was at the top. As soon as Sirius had stopped speaking, Peter let out a low whistle.

'So,' said Remus. 'Thornheart must be after one of these potions, and he needs Jackson to make it for him.'

'Think about it, right,' said Sirius pensively. 'Thornheart's killed this woman, and Jackson's shocked about it. Suppose that this woman's husband or whatever wants revenge on Thornheart. That would explain everything – Thornheart must want the Mortefermata Potion, to protect himself from the husband. He needs to get the dust from Dumbledore, and he needs Jackson to make it for him.'

'Or,' said James, 'he may want the Retrovivation potion, to kill whoever this stalker may be.'

'Either way,' said Peter, 'he's under threat.'

'Look,' said Sirius. 'It says here that the Mortefermata potion lasts for only a year. Thornheart said to Jackson "the potion only lasts for a year". That must be the one he wants.'

'That's possible,' said James. 'But it's not definite. The whole thing's shrouded in mystery.'

'And we need to get to the bottom of it,' said Sirius resolutely.

As the year entered March, the weather began to clear, and the skies began to brighten. Unfortunately the four boys had to agree that they couldn't work anything more out about the potions without further particulars. Even with their good fortune in stumbling across the blue unicorn – Sirius sent a letter of profound thanks to his aunt – they still hadn't really gotten any closer to unveiling the mystery. Thornheart was still acting maliciously, and Jackson was still constantly in good spirits. There did seem to be some danger overshadowing Thornheart. Every time they saw him, he looked thinner and paler. Dumbledore covered some of his lessons towards the end of term when he was particularly ill. He knew a surprising amount about Defence Against the Dark Arts. In one lesson, he told the class the thrilling tale of how he had overcome the Dark wizard Grindelwald. James was also immensely surprised when Dumbledore referred to You-Know-Who as "Voldemort". Indeed, only James, Sirius, Remus and Peter, who all said the name indifferently, didn't gasp when he said it. Because of this, he eyed them all shrewdly. Just as the lesson ended, he asked James a question.

'James,' he said, 'could you summarise the lesson for me?'

'Er – you started by telling us all about how you defeated Grindelwald. And then you talked to us about Voldemort.' The rest of the class gasped – bar Sirius, Remus and Peter – Dumbledore, however, merely smiled at James from behind his half-moon spectacles.

'An excellent summary. Five points to Gryffindor. You may leave.'

'Strange,' said Remus, as they were leaving. 'He doesn't normally give points away for simple things like summaries.'

'Don't be daft,' said Sirius. 'It was because James said "Voldemort" instead of "You-Know-Who" or "He Who Must Not Be Named".

'Yeah,' said Peter, agreeing. 'I don't reckon Dumbledore's afraid of him, either.'

'Wouldn't be surprised,' said Remus. 'After hearing about what he done to Grindelwald.'

Out of the Gryffindor first years only James, Lily and Sirius were staying behind during the Easter holidays. Not only were they constantly on the alert for any mention of the Retrovivation or the Mortefermata potions, but they were also beginning to worry about the exams. 'Worry', however, is probably the wrong word to use. James and Sirius, who were both still by far the cleverest students in the year, didn't worry to any extent about the exams. All the material that they learnt came to them easily; they were certainly not apprehensive about the upcoming exams. Lily, also, was fairly relaxed. She was one of the cleverest witches in the year, along with Katie, and, between them, despite both being muggle-borns, was quite a team, and was very popular amongst the teachers. It was a shame that the same couldn't be said for James and Sirius. Try as they might, they couldn't stop themselves from causing trouble. By now, both of them had around forty detentions each, which was fairly impressive, in their own opinions. Most people had to admit that they made a great duo; they spent most of their time either playing tricks on people or making people laugh. Even Thornheart couldn't resist smiling from time to time.

The third day of the holidays found the three of them sitting together in the common room playing exploding snap. On the desk near them lay their forgotten revision; they were great believers in having study breaks very often. After their sixth game, in which James' hair had been singed (not that he cared), Sirius suggested that they could go and see Hagrid – they hadn't been to see him for a while.

It was a glorious day, the sun shone down on the lake and the castle. The lake looked particularly beautiful; the suns rays reflected off it, and it shimmered gold. Those who were not revising for their exams were outside enjoying the good weather. James, Sirius and Lily spotted a pair of third years feeding Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans to a satisfied-looking tawny owl, who was munching on them apathetically. When they reached Hagrid's, they observed a rather dangerous-looking crossbow hanging on a hook outside the front door. When they entered the hut, they found Hagrid poring over a large book. They approached him, inquisitive as to what he was reading.

'Hi, Hagrid,' said Sirius loudly. 'What're you doing?' Hagrid almost fell off his stool. He quickly hid the book behind his back.

'Blimey, Sirius,' he said, straightening up, 'Don' do tha'. Yeh'll give us heart failure.'

'Sorry,' said Sirius, grinning guiltily. 'What's that book?'

'Er, nowt,' said Hagrid uncomfortably. 'Nowt important.'

'C'mon Hagrid,' said Sirius, in a high voice, 'please let us look.'

'No,' said Hagrid doggedly, 'I can't.' James, meanwhile, whilst this argument was occurring, was sneaking down to try and look at the book. He just glimpsed one word, but it was enough to make him gasp loudly.

'What?' said Hagrid, as James straightened up.

'Oh, nothing, just taking deep breaths,' said James, hoping that his unconvincing lie would work.

'Oh. Sure you don' wan' nothing to eat?' said Hagrid.

'Er, we'll think about it,' said Lily hurriedly, and then, swiftly changing the subject, said 'So, Hagrid, d'you think Gryffindor have a good chance for the Quidditch Cup?'

If there was one good thing about Lily, it was that she was a tomboy. She wasn't interested in 'girly games', as Sirius put it; she was more into watching Quidditch, and teasing Snape. She did prove the old saying, however, for she had a fiery temper, and on more than one occasion she had had reason to take out her temper onto either her friends or the Slytherins. Nevertheless, when she was happy, she was perfectly nice, and everybody enjoyed her company.

They whiled away the afternoon talking to Hagrid; he was a very good listener, and a good person to talk to. They played a few games of exploding snap, but Hagrid gave up after his beard almost caught fire. James didn't have an opportunity to talk to Sirius alone, as Hagrid's hut was so small, but there was certainly a reason for why he had gasped. It was dark by the time they left Hagrid's. The sky was still clear, and the moon was out in full, bathing the grounds in moonlight. James still couldn't talk to Sirius, as Lily was still with them, talking to them both indifferently. They took a slight detour – as they so often did – on their way back to the common room, to visit the house-elves. Lily ad never been inside the kitchens before, and she was impressed that they had found it. When they returned to the common room, James said that he was going to bed because he was tired, and motioned pointedly to Sirius to follow him. Sirius, was, however, now telling Lily a joke, and didn't see him. James sighed, and made his way up alone with the intention of telling Remus and Peter. When he entered the dorm, however, he found Peter alone, reading on his bed. He had a good idea where Remus was. Peter seemed to notice this.

'Yeah,' he said, as James shut the door. 'He's off seeing his mum again.'

'Poor guy,' said James sincerely. 'Must be terrible for him.' Peter nodded. 'Anyway,' said James, carrying on, 'I've found another clue.'

'What?' said Peter, looking up.

'You know we went to Hagrid's? Well, when we arrived, he was reading this old book – he tried to hide it, but Sirius saw it. Then, Sirius tried to make Hagrid show it to him, and I ducked down and managed to glimpse the front cover.

'What did it say?'

'All I saw was Complex P-, but I'll bet you anything that it was Complex Potions, like Sirius has got.

'You mean that Hagrid's looking up the blue unicorn as well?'

'Well, supposedly. I mean, it could be a coincidence, but why else would Hagrid want a book like that?'

'I reckon you're right,' said Peter, the light of adventure kindling in his eyes. 'But now we need to find out why Hagrid's looking for it.' Just as James nodded, Sirius came bouncing into the room.

'Hi,' he said. 'What's up?'

'James has found another clue.'

'Oh, Goody,' said Sirius, grinning. 'Quesque ça?'

'I believe the expression is "Qu'est-ce-que c'est",' said James, laughing. 'Anyway,' he said, dropping his voice. 'You know that book Hagrid was reading earlier?' Sirius nodded. 'Yeah, well, when I bent down and gasped, it wasn't because I was taking deep breaths.'

'I think we all realised that.'

'Yes. It was because I saw the title of the book – Complex Potions.'

'So we need to find out why Hagrid's looking for the blue unicorn, yes?' said Sirius, evidently filling in some missing links and coming to a conclusion at lightning speed.

'Quite,' said James, not observing the astonished look on Peter's face.

'This situation keeps getting more and more complicated,' said Peter fervently.

'You may be right,' said James, nodding. 'We'll see.'

The only feasible explanation to this new predicament was that Jackson was having some difficulty accumulating all of his potion ingredients. Though they had read through the incomplete list of ingredients in Sirius' book, most of them were far too complicated for them to comprehend, and they couldn't fail to be impressed with Thornheart's inclination to find the ingredients. The two potions in the book were described as "sister potions", as their ingredients were so singular and similar – notable the unicorn dust.

When Remus returned from visiting his mother a few days later, they filled him in on what had happened. He, like them, was not immensely surprised, because the ingredients for the potions were indeed very difficult to procure. Everybody returned to school the day before term restarted, though many people complained about the overload of homework; the fifth and seventh years especially, as it was nearing the time of their OWLs (Ordinary Wizarding Levels) and NEWTs (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests) respectively. 

Whilst this investigation was proceeding, the year had entered May and the weather was most definitely improving. There was event approaching that wiped clear James' mind of Thornheart or his potions – the Quidditch final. On the weekend preceding the match, Madam Hooch had written up the how the Championship stood:

House 

Wins

Losses

Draws

Points

Slytherin

2

0

0

+ 320

Gryffindor

1

1

0

+ 50

Ravenclaw

1

1

0

+ 30

Hufflepuff

0

2

0

– 400

The first match, Slytherin versus Hufflepuff, was scheduled for the second weekend in May, and Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw set for the third. Luckily for Ravenclaw, Jake Smith had recovered from his leg injury, and would be fit to play in the match. Snape was becoming more unpleasant these days, boasting on about how Slytherin were sure to win the Quidditch cup and the House Championship. It made James and Sirius feel remarkably sick; though in truth, he was probably right. 

On the day before the match, Sirius and James were walking – as they so often did – down to the kitchens. On the way, they passed Thornheart's office, and suddenly heard a low, excited whisper.

'Do not worry,' came Thornheart's low voice. 'It should not be long now; they cannot stop us now, we can do it!' He was speaking very quickly and very nervously. James and Sirius passed the office and headed towards the kitchen, James mind reeling once again with new information.

'What's he on now?' said Sirius broodingly.

'I reckon he's got a confederate, an associate, who's helping him – apart from Jackson. We heard him talking to him or her before, remember?'

'Yeah, that makes sense.'

So now they had yet another mystery. Who, or what, was helping Thornheart? James was beginning to get the impression that his plans were not entirely honourable; that Sirius may have been wrong in predicting that somebody was hunting him. Later, in the common room, Sirius and James explained to Remus and Peter what had happened, and Remus thought along the same sort of lines as James.

'Who d'you reckon his companion is?' said Remus. 'I hope it doesn't have anything to do with Voldemort.' This thought had already entered James' mind, and it was a possibility, though they had no proof – yet. The only thing that they were all sure of was that they had to get to the bottom of this mystery before it got out of hand – and it was quite possible that it might.

James, Sirius, Remus and Peter didn't feel like going to the Slytherin-Hufflepuff Quidditch game, because they didn't want to see Slytherin being awarded the Quidditch Cup. They instead spent their time in the common room, which was, considering that there was a Quidditch match on, quite full. Evidently some other Gryffindors didn't want to witness Slytherin's triumph either. James and Sirius were playing chess and doing their Transfiguration homework at the same time. James kept getting distracted and changing his pawns into pebbles and back again. This didn't please the pawns, and they kept trying to attack him, though they couldn't move from the board. Remus and Peter were playing exploding snap with Lily and Katie, who had also opted to stay in the castle, and so James and Sirius encountered frequent explosions and bursts of laghter from behind them, and the noises from the crowd out in the grounds.

After a few hours, they heard a large amount of shouting and cheering that could mean only that the Quidditch match had finished. After a few minutes, James spotted people coming out of the stadium and heading back up to the school, laughing and joking. Everybody seemed very jovial. This was soon explained. Slytherin, it transpired, had played very complacently, and in their lack of enthusiasm, Hufflepuff had managed to get the Snitch quite early and win by two hundred and twenty points to thirty. This meant that now both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor had a chance to steal the Quidditch Cup from Slytherin's clutches – it all depended on who won, and by how much – Gryffindor would need to win by ninety points, Ravenclaw would have to win by one hundred and ten points, and now that they had their star player back, this seemed like a probable prospect.

That night, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were all still up late in the common room discussing the case of Thornheart. Frank was playing chess with Sarah and Lily. There were a few glowing embers dying away in the fire. The four boys came to the conclusion that either Thornheart was working for somebody, or that he was in imminent danger. They were still discussing it when they all went up to bed, and whilst they were in bed. James could tell that Sirius was getting tired of the subject, and that one more mention of a potion or Thornheart would cause him to kill someone.

'You two,' said James pleadingly to Remus and Peter, still chatting unconcernedly. 'Let's try and get some sleep.'

'But -' said Peter, but then noticing the look on Sirius' face, he said 'Alright, sleep well everyone.

'Night.' came three replies, and they were soon all fast asleep, or at least, that was what James thought. If he had been a bit more observant, he would have noticed the absence of the usual deep breathing coming from Remus' bed.

I have to stop now, so that I can plan part 7. my holidays start in four days time, so I should be able to sort it out during that time. As you well know, all characters, places, names are all to do with that rowling woman, so give her lots of thanks and cash (ah, you already have).Do you think you could find it in your heart to fill in the box below? No? Damn you, then! Only kidding, I love you all *really* (well, your reviews, at least) until next time, ciao (I like that word).


	7. The Blue Unicorn (7)

Hello once again. I have returned ("Damn!" you all think). This is part seven, and we are coming to the gripping climax of the story. Somebody recently asked me why I make Peter such a nice guy. 1) He was a Marauder; they must have liked him. 2) Remus said that Peter was one of his 'three great friends'. 3) Peter 'hero-worshipped' James and Sirius 4) Peter had only been passing info to Voldemort a year before James and Lily died (not ten years, or however many it would have to be) and 5) James trusted him enough to make him his and Lily's Secret Keeper. If you are still awake, please read part 7 and review it. Thankyou. 

The Quidditch Final was coming. On Saturday, Gryffindor would play Ravenclaw in the final. If Ravenclaw won by one hundred and ten, they would win the Quidditch Cup; if Gryffindor won by ninety, they would win the Quidditch Cup. If neither of these scenarios occurred, Slytherin would win the Cup. Therefore, in the week preceding the match, the atmosphere was highly charged and tension between the three houses was at breaking point. More accurately, the tension between Slytherin and Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, as Gryffindors and Ravenclaws still got on relatively well. Snape was still stirring up trouble with his constant assurance of Slytherin's victory, something that earned him and Sirius a detention; Sirius' temper had got the better of him, and Snape had ended up not having the use of his mouth – Sirius had locked his jaws shut. This put all of the Gryffindors, and even some of the Slytherins (Snape was never the most popular person) into fits of resounding laughter.

In the House Championship, Gryffindor were now leading Ravenclaw by forty points. Slytherin, partly because of their shock defeat against Hufflepuff, had dropped in the table. 

On the day of the match, James and Sirius woke early. They went down to breakfast, though not before rudely awaking Frank, Remus and Peter. There were loud cheers in the Great Hall when both the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw teams entered. There seemed to be no enmity between the two teams – indeed, Jake Smith even came over to wish the team good luck, and was returned the wish by the Gryffindor captain, Ben Coates. James was interrupted from his thoughts by a sudden outburst of giggles from where Peter, Remus and the girls were sitting. James, Sirius and Frank, who had been discussing the forthcoming match, all looked up simultaneously.

'What's so funny?' asked Sirius.

'Michelle's in love,' laughed Lily. Sirius and James raised their eyebrows.

'Girls,' said James wearily.

'What?' said Sarah defensively.

'Aww,' said Sirius slowly. 'You're only ickle kiddies at heart.'

'Very funny,' said Michelle.

'We won't tell you who she likes then, will we?' said Lily, in a mock sulking tone.

'Oh no!' said James, in a tone of mock horror. 'Whatever will we do, Sirius?'

'Well,' said Sirius thoughtfully. 'We could torture them, but suicide might be the only option.' Everyone burst out laughing except for James and Sirius.

'But that would be unfair to old Snapey,' said James, still sounding horrified. 'He'd miss us.'

'I sincerely doubt that that would be the case, Potter,' came Severus Snape's cold sneer.

'Ah,' said Sirius. 'Speak of the devil. Well, speak of the genetically modified rat-type creature, to be perfectly accurate.' Snape flushed, as everyone started laughing at him.

'What would you know, Black?' he said, trying to sneer, but fully aware that nearly all the people around him were laughing at him.

'Calm down Severus, he's only joking,' said James. 'In fact, we were just saying how much we thought that Slytherin would win the Quidditch Cup.'

'Were you?' asked Snape quietly.

'No!' said James and Sirius together. Snape went, if possible, even redder, and went back to his seat, the laughs from the Gryffindor and some of the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables ringing in his ears.

'Poor old Snapey,' said Remus consolingly. 'D'you think we're a bit nasty to him?'

'No,' said James and Sirius in unison.

The weather that morning was glorious – perfect conditions for a Quidditch match. James and the rest made their way down to the Quidditch pitch, laughing and joking. They spotted Snape ahead, but he stole away before they could insult him. They arrived at the pitch quite early; the stadium was relatively empty. James seated himself between Lily and Sirius, and they sat talking and laughing in their seats whilst waiting for the rest of the school to arrive. 

In due course, the stadium was full of around two hundred and fifty highly exuberant witches and wizards. The whole school was attending; as the match was such an important one – three houses had the chance of taking the Quidditch Cup. Presently, the players were ready to come out onto the pitch. From the end nearest to James and the others came the Gryffindor team, headed by the Chaser and Captain, Ben Coates. He was a handsome fourth-year, and regarded as the best Chaser in the school. His opposite number, Jake Smith, was leading the Ravenclaw team onto the pitch at the other end. Smith was receiving rapturous applause – he was also a very handsome and popular pupil, though he was a sixth-year. Smith was regarded as the best Quidditch player at Hogwarts in a long time; he was undoubtedly a fantastic Seeker.

Smith and Coates shook hands in an amiable manner, and then they were off. Fifteen brooms shot up high above the stadium. David Woods was again taking his role in providing the commentary.

'And they're off. This match is a real cruncher – the winner will undoubtedly take home the Quidditch Cup. The good news for Ravenclaw is that Jake Smith, playing Seeker, has returned from injury and is one hundred per cent fit to play. This is bad news for Gryffindor.' James laughed. No matter how hard Woods tried, James just knew he would be biased towards Ravenclaw.

'There's also bad luck in store for Slytherin, in that they just won't be winning the Cup under any circumstances.' This remark was followed by a series of cheers and laughs from three-quarters of the crowd and boos from the Slytherin quarter.

'Vaughn, then, in possession for Gryffindor. Plays a nice one-two with Linda Carter, still Vaughn, heading towards the goals, and – Gryffindor score, ten-zero to Gryffindor.' There was sheer disappointment in his voice as he said this.

'Play resumes then, and Johnson has the Quaffle for Ravenclaw, play it to Mak, Mak is heading towards the Gryffindor goals, and, HE SCORES!! A fantastic goal by Ravenclaw Chaser Jason Mak. That makes the score ten-all.' Before very long, it became apparent that this game was going to be, in the words of David Woods, a cruncher. The Chasers were playing to their utmost ability, the Beaters weren't missing a thing, and even the Keepers were limiting the number of goals. Neither team was, at any point, more than twenty point ahead. It was also quite evident that this was not pleasing the Slytherins – they had resorted to booing every time a goal was scored.

'That's some good defensive work by the Gryffindor Beater, Preston – he dispossesses Mak – the Quaffle is picked up by Coa – Hold on! Was that the Snitch? Yes, yes, and Smith and Beaufort are neck and neck, closing in on the Snitch, and, OUCH! That had to hurt!' A large Bludger had just connected with Nancy Beaufort's head.

'And, in the confusion, the Snitch disappears.' Madam Pomfrey had come onto the pitch to attend to Nancy Beaufort. Whilst the game had stopped, James looked around the ground. He could see all the Hufflepuffs, looking like they were having a real treat. The Slytherins were looking sour, though some of them seemed pleased with Beaufort's misfortune. The Ravenclaws were all hanging to their seats, looking infuriated because of the Snitch's disappearance. It was at this point that James noticed something odd. In the front row of the Ravenclaw supporters was Professor Jackson, but Jackson was getting up to leave. James noticed him sidle away, evidently trying to get out of the grounds unobserved. Why, though, should he leave, when the match was so good, and the odds were on his house to win? James' curiosity got the better of him.

'Sirius,' he whispered to his left, without taking his eyes off Jackson.

'He's gone off somewhere,' came Remus' reply.

'Come with me,' said James, grabbing his arm. Together they worked their way to the exit, James explaining to Remus what he'd seen at the same time.

'Have you got the Cloak?' Remus asked. James shook his head.

'Hey, there's Sirius.' Sirius was running towards them, his pockets bulging.

'Where've you been?' asked James.

'Very direct, Mr Potter,' said Sirius, grinning. 'I have been to yonder kitchens.'

'Surpris – wait a minute, did you take the Cloak?'

'Naturally,' said Sirius, pulling it out of his pocket.

'Sirius, you're a genius, even if you are a thief. C'mon, Remus.' And he threw the Cloak over the three of them and continued following Jackson.

'Would somebody mind telling me what is going on?' asked Sirius, looking puzzled. 

'Tell him, Remus, but quietly.' After Sirius had been briefed, the three of them carried on after Jackson. They could hear cheering behind them from the stadium, so the game had obviously resumed. Jackson was leading them away from the stadium, but also away from the school. He was heading for the edge of the Forbidden Forest, just beyond Hagrid's hut. It was then that James saw whom he was meeting with – Professor Thornheart materialised out of nowhere.

'How useful,' said Jackson, running his fingers through Thornheart's Invisibility Cloak.

'Merely a precaution,' said Thornheart, shrugging. 'What's the problem?'

'There is none,' said Jackson, his eyes shining. 'The potion will be ready by next Saturday.'

'Lee, that is wonderful. I will be forever in your debt.'

'Do not start celebrating yet; the potion might not work. How long has it been?'

'Almost ten months. We have managed, or you, rather, have managed it within the time.'

'Yes. All that remains is for you to come to my office on Saturday and we can perform the procedure.'

'Thank you, Lee,' said Thornheart, wringing Jackson's hand. 'Thank you for all you have done for me.'

'My pleasure, Frederic. Now, I must return to the stadium, for I have a sneaking suspicion I may have something to celebrate.'

'I wouldn't bet against it,' said Thornheart, laughing, and together they started off for the stadium, Thorheart muttering about the complacency of his Quidditch team. James looked at them both hard before they disappeared from view. Thornheart looked very cheerful, obviously because of the news he had received in the last few minutes. Jackson also looked happy, but there was a slightly strained look on his face and in his eyes. James guessed that it must have been from fatigue, as Jackson must have spent large periods of time researching and procuring the potion ingredients.

Jackson's theory about his house winning the Quidditch Cup had, it transpired, been accurate. When they had returned to the stadium, they found it empty. They had made their way up to the common room (via, of course, the kitchens) and found a very subdued and unpleasant atmosphere that told them only too clearly, knowing what party-animals the Gryffindors were, that Ravenclaw had won. Peter, who they found in the dormitory, playing chess with Frank, filled them in on the details. 

'Smith got the Snitch, not long after Nancy got hit. Where were you lot?'

'We'll tell you later,' whispered Sirius, obviously not wanting Frank to overhear him.' Peter nodded perceptively.

Though the feeling in the Gryffindor common room was grim, James and Sirius managed to entertain themselves that afternoon, talking about different ways of embarrassing Snape. Sirius said that he wished he knew where the Slytherin common room was. They had already found the Ravenclaw common room – they had been exploring the castle once when a section of the wall had opened up, and a Ravenclaw prefect had stepped out. He seemed furious with himself for unwittingly showing two Gryffindor first-years the secret entrance to his common room. Unfortunately for James and Sirius, however, this was no good, as they got on very well with all the Ravenclaws they knew, and had no reason to want to "sabotage" (as Sirius so delicately put it), their common room.

Later on in the evening, when the common room was a lot emptier, James, Remus and Sirius decided it was safe to tell Peter what had happened earlier on.

'So,' said Peter breathlessly, 'Thornheart's taking his potion next Saturday.'

'Precisely,' said James. 'And I reckon, since we've been so, er, involved in this little escapade, we should be there to witness the consequences.'

'Breaking into a teacher's office to witness a private and confidential appointment?' said Sirius. 'I like the sound of that.'

'You'd make a great thief, you know' said Remus. Sirius bowed.

'Damn right,' whispered James. 'Now, the only thing we need to know is when Thornheart will be visiting Jackson.'

Therefore, when lessons started that Monday, James, Sirius, Peter and Remus began to make plans for their excursion on Saturday night. The exams were now only a few weeks away, and the teachers were working the students extra hard in the (sometimes vain) hope that they might learn something. James was still, however, increasingly laid-back about the exams. He was doing no more or no less work than was required, and felt confident about them. Sirius, also, was taking this stance. It was a shame the same couldn't be said for all of their friends. Peter, for one, was working extra hard, as he didn't have the natural ability that James and Sirius possessed. Remus too, was working hard, though perhaps not as hard as Peter – Remus was, in reality, very clever, but he had none of Sirius or James' confidence; he, like many others, such as Lily and Katie, was becoming uptight and irritable about the exams, and often seemed quite exasperated with the opinions of James and Sirius, who complained loudly, though sarcastically, about how instead of exams they should take in intense course in the art of mischief. Some people could see their point and take the joke, but some others got increasingly frustrated – much to the delight of James and Sirius. 

On Tuesday, in a particularly gripping Potions lesson with the Slytherins, they were learning how to make a simple potion to corrode metal. Well, they were, at least, watching a demonstration by Professor Jackson – it was not wise to show people like James and Sirius the ingredients of a metal corrosive. About halfway through the lesson, whilst they were making notes on the properties of corrosives, Jackson called James to his desk.

'Yes, sir?' said James, smiling.

'Er, James, could you take this letter to Professor Thornheart for me?' James almost started, but held in his surprise.

'Certainly, sir,' he said, saluting Jackson, and he started off for Thornheart's room. There was no way, James thought, as he walked along the corridor, that Thornheart would be the first to read this letter. When he had made sure that there was nobody around him, he carefully slid the letter open. Deciding that it was a bit risky to read it, he simply transfigured his spare quill into a blank piece of parchment. Then, he said the copying charm to put the writing from the note onto the parchment.

'Duplicato,' he whispered, whilst tapping his wand onto first the letter and then the parchment. Instantly, the words from the letter were transferred onto the parchment. James thrust the parchment into his pocket and replaced the envelope, before resealing it. He arrived, a few minutes later, and handed on the note to Thornheart, and after receiving Thornheart's thanks – for he was a lot kinder of late – he returned to his lesson.

James did not get a chance to show Sirius, Peter and Remus the note during lessons, so he waited until the evening, when they were all resting or revising in the common room.

'Here it is,' said James, pulling out the slip of parchment, after he had explained how he had gotten hold of it. 'Listen.'

Come to office at half past six Saturday evening. Don't bother rushing. Be, if unavoidable, late.

### L. Jackson

'So,' said Peter. 'We need to go to Jackson's office at half six on Saturday. Shouldn't be too difficult.' Sirius and Remus nodded.

'I don't get it. This message doesn't seem right. "Be, if unavoidable, late"? Why not "If unavoidable, be late"? It's not good grammar.'

'Oh, he was probably writing it in a hurry, and didn't pay much attention,' said Remus.

'Yeah, probably,' said James, but there was still something bothering him about the note.

The week passed fairly quickly, and without much occurrence, just a few detentions for James and Sirius. The four of them were looking forward to their rule-breaking escapade on Saturday. 

On Friday night, the four of them sat up playing chess and quietly discussing their plans for the next day. They decided to take their wands with them, as there was an element of danger.

Saturday came, and when James woke up he could see Sirius hitting Remus with a pillow in a vain attempt to wake him. He got out of bed, chuckling, and after a short time, all five boys were awake. They went down to breakfast together, Remus and Peter discussing what they thought would happen that night, Sirius and James discussing escape routes.

They spent the afternoon in the common room, doing some revision. They returned from dinner at ten to six. By this time, the four of them were too excited to revise. James could see Sirius and Peter positively shivering with excitement and anticipation. James himself pulled out Jackson's note, and began studying it, hard. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt that there was more to this note than met the eye. He studied it, again and again, but he couldn't see any secret message, or hidden meaning, unless…

'You three!' he shouted, his eyes glittering. 'Quick, we've gotta go! We've gotta go! Hurry!' These remarks stimulated a few questions as to James' sanity, but Sirius, nonetheless, fetched the Cloak.

'What's wrong?' asked Remus. 'We don't need to go for twenty minutes.'

'No, you don't understand! We're late; we have to go now!'

'Alright,' said Remus sceptically, and the three of them exited the common room and James threw the Cloak over them.

'Why, James, are we going so early?' asked Sirius.

'It's Jackson's note. I was right; it does have a secret message. Look,' he said, pulling it out of his pocket, 'read it.'

'Alright,' said Sirius, bemused. 'Come to office at half past six Saturday evening. Don't bother rushing. Be, if unavoidable, late. L. Jackson.'

'Very good, but now read it from the start using every third word.'

'Er, Come – at – six – don't – be – late. Sh - sugar, he's right, we need to get there.' James nodded grimly.

'And we're already ten minutes late. Who knows what could have happened?'

They were now walking rather much faster than they had been, and James was concentrating so much on getting to Jackson's office that he turned a corner and walked headlong into someone. The Cloak slid off them.

'That is a useful item,' came the voice of Albus Dumbledore. 'But where were you heading, may I ask, in such a hurry?'

'Sir,' said James, in a strangled voice. 'You have to come with us, something's happening in Professor Jackson's office, something he and Professor Thornheart don't want people to know about – something about one of the blue unicorn potions.' As soon as the last three words were out of James' mouth, Dumbledore's expression changed from apprehensive to believing in a second.

'Lead the way,' he said resolutely. 'I hope for your sake that you are right James, for if not I can think of at least three teachers that would be most displeased otherwise.' James gulped, but still led the way determinedly. They reached Jackson's office at quarter past six. James tried the door, but it was locked. He then tried the Alohomora Charm, but it wouldn't work. Just as it looked like they wouldn't be able to get in, Sirius fished out of his pocket the present that he had got from James at Christmas.

'Here,' he said, handing James the key. 'Try this.' James tried it, and eventually the door clicked. Counting to three, he flung open the door, and heard four loud gasps behind him, when he looked at the grotesque scene before his eyes.

Ooh. I think I stop now. Maybe this is a cliffhanger? Damn right it is. I now know how part eight (which will probably be the last part of Blue Unicorn) will happen *cackles* and you don't (although you can guess). All of the important characters except Jackson, Thornheart and possibly Katie belong to J. K. Rowling (bless her). As Christmas is two days away, anyone who reads this story before then, a Very Merry Christmas to you. If not, well happy whatever time of the year it may be. Oh, yeah, don't forget to review. Ciao.


	8. The Blue Unicorn (8)

It is time to show some recognition to all the wonderful people who have reviewed this story at some point:

Rosa

Kibee 

*Madaline* 

Rainbow Kitty

me

Tropical Fishy

Dragon 

Hahaha

chix chixypixy@yahoo.com

Temptress dgnr8girl4life@aol.com 

Sadie

Unicorn Child 

**Lady Abia**

hgjgf

Ginny Potter

key

Rose

Hermione Granger hermione@lytehouse.net

marie

Hermione Gulliver

kmk

Megan T

bunny chan

beth

Harrys Crush

alias name 

Jennifer Longbottom

gsgfdsgh

Jennifer

Amethyst

Ana:)

Wyrren Potter

Skyflyer

SeasheLL

gdsfg

Margie hollandkitty@hotmail.com

Hazel Oculare

I love you all, but special recognition to Kibee, who is the only author that has reviewed all seven stories. What a person!! Go and read her stories after this. Read on, my friends, and review…

Thornheart was lying face up on the ground, with a horribly twisted expression on his face. Beside him stood Jackson, panting hard, but with a clear expression of guilt on his face. Before he could do so much as raise his wand, Dumbledore had stunned him. On Jackson's desk there stood one small cauldron, half full of red potion and a small goblet full of blue potion. Because of Sirius' book, they knew instantly that the blue potion was Retrovivation Potion and the red potion was Mortefermata Potion. On the floor next to Thornheart there stood a coffin, the same coffin that James had seen in Thornheart's office. Inside was a young woman, with a dark handsome face. She was undoubtedly dead

Slowly, Dumbledore walked over to Jackson and picked up his wand that had fallen to the floor. Then, he muttered something, and Jackson instantly regained consciousness. He grinned wryly when he spotted Dumbledore and the four boys staring back at him, Dumbledore with wand in hand. 

'I'm thinking I shouldn't have given you that note on Tuesday, James,' he said.'Or else my little scheme might have worked.'

'I think it would be in your benefit to tell us the details of your scheme,' said Dumbledore calmly.

'Sure, I don't mind. Thing is, you probably need this vermin,' he motioned to Thornheart, 'alive again, if you would like to know the whole story.'

'That is easily arranged. James, could you pour out the remainder of the Retrovivation Potion and give it to Professor Thornheart? It may be advisable to take his wand, also.' James nodded, and carried out Dumbledore's instructions. Within a few minutes, Thornheart had also regained consciousness, and was staring disbelievingly at Jackson and Dumbledore.

'What happened? He offers me a drink, and next thing I know I'm out cold.'

'Not quite out cold, I'm afraid, Frederic,' said Jackson coldly, his eyes gleaming. 'You were dead.'

'But how? Why?'

'I think we'd all like to know that,' said Dumbledore, his eyes blazing. 'Lee, would you be so good as to explain this to us?'

'Fine,' said Jackson. 'I have no objection. Firstly, you should know that my real name is not Lee Jackson, it is Jacob Thornheart.' Thornheart gasped. 'This man,' he motioned to Thornheart, 'is my younger brother; I was six when he was born. Now, we had one other brother, John, who I now believe to be dead.'

'How can this be?' asked Thornheart exasperatedly. 

'I'll tell you. When John and I; John was, by the way, three years younger than myself. When we were young, we had a marvellous childhood. We were the sons of Jack and Sophie Thornheart,' he smiled. 'My father had a liking for names that began with J, and that is why my brother and I were named so. Now, when I was five, for I have only vague memories, I just remember my father telling me that my mother was again pregnant. Now, my brother and I were, as you can imagine, very excited about this. How could we have possibly known the pain and suffering that this baby would cause?' Jackson paused, took a deep breath, and continued.

'The first tragedy came rapidly and unexpectedly. When the baby was born, our mother, Sophie, died in childbirth. This practically destroyed my father. Because of his depression, I was sent away, and was adopted by another wizarding family, the Jacksons. I have since been known as one of them, as Lee Jackson, for they were a considerate and caring family. I did not wish to have the same name as I had had with my family – it hurt me too much. They raised me, and though I was not accepted at Hogwarts, my father, James Jackson – I always thought it was ironic how his name should begin with J, had been a teacher, and taught me the basics of magic.' Jackson's voice broke. He paused for a moment, and then carried on with his story.

'Now, back at my old home, my father was caring for John and Frederic. He didn't have the heart to name the baby with a name starting with J, as he couldn't desecrate the memory of his dead wife with a name that he liked. He never really cared for the baby, I gathered this from the letters he used to write to me, but he was still devoted to John. Now, it was not long before my father too died. He never really recovered from his depression. John was also put up for adoption, and I never heard of him again. This hurt me deeply, for me and John had been so close; there was a subtle bond of love between us that could not be broken. Now, it was probably because I was young and didn't understand fully these matters, but I placed the blame squarely on Frederic. He had himself been adopted. My father's brother and his wife adopted him. They had had no children. Now, I do not now what transpired, but fifteen years later, I heard of the premature deaths of my aunt and uncle also. I was, at the time, twenty-two. You could imagine my reaction. My mother and father, my uncle and aunt: all dead. And my only true friend, John, was somewhere where I could never find him. I tried, yes I tried to find him but it was all in vain. All this tragedy that had befallen my family was, in my eyes, the fault of Frederic. Now, the love I had for John and my deceased relatives could only be matched by my deep loathing of Frederic. Therefore, my search began. I had failed in finding John, but I swore to myself that I would revenge my family. I searched high and low, for years, until finally Frederic slipped up. Obviously he didn't realise that he had slipped up, for if someone had told him that his older brother about whom he knew nothing was coming to kill him, he would have given them directions to the closest mental institution. The mistake he made, it would have been nearly five years ago now, was becoming a Professor at Hogwarts. Now, Hogwarts is the only school of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Britain, so it didn't take me long to find out where he was. It was an article in the _Daily Prophet_; it caught my eye. It said that there would be a new, young teacher of Defence Against the Dark Arts, called Frederic Thornheart. Now Thornheart is not, as you can imagine, a very common surname, so when I saw this article, I knew that my search was over. But I was determined to make a good job of my vengeance; I had to have a plan that was foolproof. It took me a few weeks, but I eventually drafted a plan that I felt with hard work and effort, I could achieve.' He paused for a minute, and continued. 

'Firstly, I checked the staff list at Hogwarts. I noticed that there were two teachers who were old, and likely to retire after a few years at the most. One was Professor Binns, the History of Magic teacher – it was lucky that I didn't choose him, for I had no idea he was a ghost – I could have still been waiting in twenty years time. The other was Professor Murphy, a Professor of Potions. I chose to go for this job, and then my training began. To cut a long story short, I can just tell you that I studied Potions at the highest level for three years. I knew of the impregnability of Hogwarts – I could not just walk in and curse Frederic – and felt that my best chance would be to try and become a Professor. Now, it just so happened that one of the minor courses I took towards the end of my education was to do with Highly Complex Potions. My Professor, Professor Edwards, had written a book on the subject, Complex Potions, and in one lecture he told us of these so-called blue unicorn potions. The Mortefermata potion did not interest me initially, but the Retrovivation Potion did. I made extensive notes on it, with help from my professor, and felt that one day it may come in handy.'

'At the end of my training, then, I was made a Professor. I would have applied that year for Hogwarts, but Murphy was still teaching. I waited. I had told myself a long time ago that I would have to be patient. During that year I exacted my plans. The Retrovivation potion was, as I had predicted, a little godsend to me, and it played a part in my plans. I discovered that Thornheart was married, and dearly loved his wife. His love for her reminded me of John, and it infuriated me further. I decided that I would have to offer to make the potion for Thornheart, and I knew just the person to be the victim. By this time, a year had passed. Fortunately, Murphy retired at the end of that year, and I was able to get the job. With only a month before I left for Hogwarts, I had to act fast. I managed to surprise his wife one night as she walked home. I felt bad afterwards, for none of this was her doing, but I intended to wake her once Frederic was dead. For tonight, I made three doses of Retrovivation Potion and only one dose of Mortefermata Potion.'

'Now I knew that Frederic would do anything to revive his wife, er, Anna, her name is, I believe?' Thornheart nodded. 

'When I arrived, I got to know him. He has the same eyes that both my father and John had had, which made it all the more difficult. He told me of his wife's mysterious death and how he wished there was something he could do. I told him of the potion, but I told him that it would only work a year after the person's death. The truth is that it is two years. My original plan was to make him a dud potion that would not work, and would, hopefully, explode upon use – that would be crude, but it would do the trick. I thought this only because I did not expect him to have Anna in the castle – I though he would give the potion to her alone, at his house, and it would never be traced back to me, for I was the only one who knew the whole story. I never even shared it with my foster parents, though I loved them dearly. One day, I was merely strolling past his office when I noticed this coffin. On closer inspection, I found it to be Anna. I was horrified. My plans could not fail, after so much time and effort. I spent the whole week thinking about how to rearrange my plans. There was no other alternative; I could procrastinate no longer – I would have to make the potion, and give Retrovivation Potion to Frederic. It was of the utmost importance, it was imperative, that Frederic should never know the colour of the potions, for then the whole scheme would be ruined, and I would have wasted almost ten years of my life. Therefore, I had to keep him guessing.'

'The rest, as you can surmise, is fairly self-explanatory. Frederic didn't suspect a thing.' Jackson smiled at this point. 'Frederic thought he was running the show. He thought I was his underling. It was sometimes hard not to laugh when he ordered me around, but I knew, that with a little patience, I could pull it off. He was playing into my hands.'

'With a little help from Hagrid – I told him Frederic's predicament, not my own – I managed to procure the ingredients, though I got the unicorn dust from you, Albus – I only needed one sample, as I made so little Mortefermata potion. By this morning, I was ready for the "Grande finale". I have waited ten years, and I think I have achieved something.'

'I sent Frederic a secret message on Tuesday imploring him to be here at six and no later. I had, of course, written in code in case the letter was intercepted.' As Jackson said this, he smiled wryly at James.

'Evidently the code was not good enough. Frederic arrived at six, and I gave the Mortefermata potion to Anna. I hade intended to use Mortefermata because I had already told him that the potion was red, and he had to see me add the unicorn dust. He thought it was Retrovivation potion. My entire scheme would have been ruined if he had ever bothered to research it. He would have found that it was a blue potion, not red; that it would work within two years, not one, and finally that the effect was instantaneous. I told him that it would take a little time to work, and offered him the Retrovivation Potion in the form of a drink. It worked like a charm. Even I was surprised at how well I had managed to produce it.'

'If you had arrived five minutes later then I would have been gone, and I would have succeeded in my plans. I knew you would read the note, but I underestimated your intelligence, and now I know I should have never told you to take it to Frederic. Yes, that's it,' said Jackson, as Sirius pulled it out. 'No doubt you worked it out from "Be, if unavoidable, late"? Well, I was in a hurry when I wrote it, so it's not brilliant.' 

'That is the story, gentlemen, and this is where it ends.' And before anybody could move, Jackson pulled out a wand that was concealed under his cloak. Dumbledore raised his wand, but Jackson was too quick.

'Expelliarmus! Sorry Albus, you can't stop me now.' He turned to his brother, with an expression of pure hatred.

'Goodbye, Frederic, see you in hell! Avada Kedavra!' Thornheart keeled over lifelessly. 'Goodbye, James, Sirius, Remus, Peter,' he said, smiling. 'I hope you have a better life than I did.' And finally, he turned to Dumbledore. 'Goodbye Albus, thank you for all your help. My work is done – my family is revenged. Farewell.'

'Wait,' said Dumbledore.

'Stop!' said James and Sirius together.

'Sorry boys, I'd rather die than go to Azkaban. Aha! I think that's what I'll do. 

Accio!' The goblet of Retrovivation potion flew across the room, and Jackson caught and swallowed it in one gulp.

'Always – have – a – backup – plan –' He keeled over, next to his brother, and the two of them lay there, their eyes vacant and lifeless. The Thornhearts were no more.

Peter spoke up nervously from the corner of the room.

'Are – are they dead?' he asked nervously.

'I'm afraid so,' said Dumbledore solemnly. 'There is nothing we could have done. Jacob had, as he said, a backup plan. He knew what he was going to do from the minute I revived him. This is my fault.'

'You couldn't have known, sir,' said James quietly. 'You couldn't have known he had a spare wand.'

'Poor Jackson,' said Sirius, looking at the man they now knew to be Jacob Thornheart. 'He's had a hard time of it.'

'He did what he wanted to though, didn't he?' said Remus, motioning first to Thornheart and then to Jackson, who had a large smile playing across his lips.

'I think we had better get them to the Hospital Wing. Could you four go and alert Madam Pomfrey? Thank you. Please come straight back. I must go and alert Professors McGonagall and Lennox.' And so the four friends made their way, in the darkness and in silence, over to the Hospital Wing. James mind was still reeling from what he had just seen. Now that he thought about it, it all made sense. Jackson had been shocked when he saw the coffin, because it meant he would have to rearrange his plans. Jackson had enlisted Hagrid's help, which was why Hagrid had been using Complex Potions. Jackson had told Thornheart about the blue unicorn – it had undoubtedly been a highly clever scheme. It was just a shame that it had all ended in tragedy. 

The four of them arrived at the Hospital Wing, and explained the whole story to Madam Pomfrey. When they had finished, she looked shocked, but implored them to return to Dumbledore and bring the bodies to her.

They left, and headed back to Jackson's office. When they arrived back there, Dumbledore was still not back, so they decided to wait outside. It was not until Remus glanced inside that yet another mystery was to transpire.

'Hey, where's Jackson?'

'What?' asked Sirius.

'Jackson's not in here – look.' He was right. Thornheart and his wife were still lying as they had been, but Jackson had disappeared.

'Maybe Dumbledore and the others already took him to the Hospital Wing,' said Peter hopefully.

'Yeah,' said James. 'Probably.' But at that moment, Dumbledore arrived, with Professor McGonagall and Professor Lennox.

'Where is Jackson?' asked Dumbledore.

'We – we thought you'd already taken him.' Dumbledore shook his head.

'Hey, hold on!' said Sirius, making everyone start. 'There's a note.' Beside where Thornheart lay, a small piece of paper was folded up. Sirius read it allowed.

_To Albus, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter,_

_By the time you read this, I will be gone, and none of you shall ever hear of me or see me again. _

_As you might have guessed, the potion in the goblet was not Retrovivation potion at all. If you had asked Hagrid, you would have discovered that we could not find all of the ingredients, and if you had checked your book more thoroughly, Sirius, you would have noticed that at least one sample of blue unicorn dust is needed for each potion, no matter how large or small the amount being produced is. This blue potion is a potion that I discovered some time ago. It has most singular effects. It is, in effect, a fairly weak sleeping potion, but it gives the effect of death, as you have no doubt seen. That was why I had to use it. The fantastic thing about this potion is that a second dose can cancel out a first dose – as you saw when you revived Frederic. I took very little of the potion, so I was conscious about five minutes after I took it. I was banking on finding the room empty when I regained consciousness, and thankfully I did.I collected my things and left. I wasn't going to let Frederic wipe out all of the Thornhearts. Having a second wand is a precaution I have been using for a long time, and I saw the perfect opportunity to revenge John and the rest. I could not let Frederic live. The whole of my life has been spent planning how it should be done. Had I not had a second wand, I would have killed Frederic straightaway. It has been a pleasure teaching and knowing you. Don't bully Snape too much…_

_Goodbye,_

_J. Thornheart_

_ _

There was perhaps five minutes of complete silence after Sirius had finished reading. 

'Incredible,' whispered Dumbledore quietly after a few minutes. 'Ingenious.' He picked up the goblet of potion. 'He did say to always have a backup plan,' he said, smiling.

'I think,' said Professor McGonagall slowly, 'that you four,' she motioned at James, Sirius, Peter and Remus, 'had better go back to your common room.'

'Yes,' said Dumbledore, nodding gravely. 'There is nothing more to be known here. Now, could you three go on ahead? I would like a word with James.' Sirius, Remus and Peter nodded, and together they left.

'Minerva, Joan, could you take the unfortunate Professor's body up to the Hospital Wing?' Neither teacher looked exactly willing, but they reluctantly agreed, and they also left.

'First of all, James, I have to apologise. I admit that I didn't see the importance of the note. No doubt it was you who cracked it?' James nodded. 'That does not surprise me. You may not set much standard by rules,' he said, smiling genially, 'but I think, even if you do not wish to admit it, that you can achieve at a very high level. You and Mr. Black have already proven yourselves to be most able students, along with Miss Burns and Miss Evans (a/n No comment).' James nodded, then thought of something.

'Sir, there's one thing…how did Professor Jackson manage to get the unicorn dust from you?'

'I am afraid that I am guilty of extreme shortsightedness. I believed that Professor Jackson was helping Professor Thornheart as a friend; I had no idea of the true consequences of my actions. Professor Jackson told me of his plan to help his colleague, and I believed him. I gave him my sample of the dust. I could not have comprehended what his plans were, or else I would never have done so. I would never have hired him in the first place.' They were both silent for a few minutes.

'Well, James, there was nothing that you could have done. You almost managed to stop Professor Jackson, but his escape shows you how clever he really was. Not many people that I know could produce a blue unicorn potion after a mere three years training. I mean, even you will have a subsidiary seven years training. I sincerely hope that he now can get on with his life, wherever he may end up.' There were a few more minutes of silence.

'I think you had better return to your common room, James. Remember, none of this is your fault. The consequences of one's actions in a situation like this can never affect just one person. I, meanwhile, must go and place an advertisement in the Daily Prophet; we need a few new teachers, wouldn't you say?' Dumbledore smiled as James left the room, and turned to return to the Gryffindor common room.

James entered the very quiet common room a few minutes later. Most people were revising, but over in the corner sat Sirius, Remus and Peter, playing exploding snap. All three of them looked noticeably subdued. 

'He was right, you know,' said James.

'Eh?' said Sirius, looking up.

'Dumbledore told me something, er, the consequences of someone's actions in a case like this always affect more than one person.'

'Damn right,' said Remus gloomily.

'Jackson was right, too,' said Peter, holding up Complex Potions. 'Listen to this sentence. "Each potion requires one sample of the dust to work". If only we'd remembered that, Jackson might not have got away.'

'Yeah, but he'd had a pretty rough time, I mean, you wouldn't exactly like to have had the life he had.'

''Spect wherever he is now,' said Remus, 'he's happy.'

'Yes,' said Sirius. 'And so should we be. The exams are only one day away!' James chuckled. Knowing Sirius, it wouldn't take him long to get over this tragedy.

Exam week came, and the whole school seemed to start actually doing some work. Even people like James and Sirius were working hard. As a special treat from Dumbledore, all of the first-years were exempt from their Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts exams, as their teachers were gone. 

The whole story of what had happened in Jackson's office was now public knowledge, and all the teachers were being strangely nice to James. The four boys had soon got over the shock of their experience, and loved telling their own, exaggerated versions of the story, though they did tell the truth to Frank and the girls. Everyone was impressed with how James had cracked the secret message, but he usually shrugged it off. He was very modest.

The exams, in James' opinion, were extremely easy. They were also very easy in Sirius, Lily's and Katie's opinions. The four were the cleverest in the year, and, it transpired, achieved the highest exam results. James was highest, Lily was second, Sirius was third and Katie was fourth. James had an especially high mark of two hundred and sixty per cent in his Transfiguration exam.

Before very long, the end of term was upon them. They spent one of their last nights at the end-of-term feast. Gryffindor, largely thanks to their array of high calibre students, had won the House Championship, beating Ravenclaw in second place. Therefore, the feast took place under the red and gold Gryffindor banners, and everybody laughed, talked and joked. In James' opinion, the feast summed up his whole year. He almost felt sad that he was leaving Hogwarts, but the thought of his parents helped to ease the pain. As James looked up to the High Table, he noticed the two vacant seats where Professors Thornheart and Jackson or, in literal terms, Thornheart would have been sitting. But, as Dumbledore had said, none of it was his fault, so there was no point in worrying about it.

And suddenly, their wardrobes were empty, and their bags were packed. James and the others, as first years, left the castle in the way that they had arrived, across the lake. It was a glorious summer afternoon, and the sun reflected down onto the lake; making it glitter with rays of golden sunlight.

The trip home aboard the Hogwarts Express was fairly uneventful. James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Lily, Katie, Sarah and Frank all managed to find themselves a compartment, and spent the journey playing chess or exploding snap. About halfway through the journey, an unwelcome visitor turned up.

'Oh look, it's the champions,' said Snape sourly.

'Snapey!' said James joyfully. 'Have you come to wish us a happy holiday? Are you going to miss us?'

'Hardly, Potter. I came to tell you and your mudblood friends that – get off me, Black!'

'What did you call them?!' said James and Sirius threateningly.

'Playing the heroes, are you? I said you and your mudblood friends –'

'_Petrificus Totalus_!' shouted James. Snape's arms and legs snapped together, he fell onto the floor, flat on his face. James approached him.

'If you, Snape, if you or any of your dirty friends, ever – ever call anybody that again, then you will pay. Understand?!' Snape nodded, and James muttered the counter-curse.

'Get out!!' Snape left, looking malevolent but terrified at the same time. 

'Dirty rat,' James said, after Snape had left. Sirius cheered.

'Oh James,' he said, in a girly voice. 'Our hero, how can we thank you?'

'What's a mudblood?' asked Lily curiously.

'It's a really bad word for muggle-borns,' Remus explained. 'It means that have like bad blood; dirty blood. Its only ratty Slytherins like Snape, with their so-called "purity of blood", thatwould ever say it. They think that, because they are purebloods, that no muggle-borns should be allowed into Hogwarts; it should be kept in the old wizarding families. That wouldn't have worked, of course, as they would all have died out ages ago. It was Slytherin who started the "trend"; it says so in _Hogwarts_: _A History_.'

'And you can guess what a loon he was.'

After the rest of the uneventful trip, the Hogwarts Express arrived at King's Cross. James spotted his parents standing next to another set of parents, that Remus identified as his own. He said goodbye to all his friends.

'Seeya, James,' shouted Lily, heading towards her parents and what could only be the sister she so despised (James could see why – looking at her was bad enough)

'Bye, James,' said Peter, as he too left to join his parents.

'Don't get into too much trouble, Jamesy,' said Sirius, as he turned to leave. 'You'll have to come over in the summer, with Remus and Pete.'

'Seeya, Sirius,' said James, clapping him on the shoulders.

James and Remus then walked over to where their parents were conversing.

'Hello, James dear,' said his mother, hugging him. 'You must be Remus.' Remus nodded. 'Nice to meet you too, dear. Stuart, help your son with his luggage. After a few minutes of panting and puffing, James and his father managed to load his trunk onto their car.

'Bye Remus,' James called. 'Sirius says we all have to go to his house this summer.'

'Sounds dangerous to me,' said Remus grinning. James clapped him on the back, also, and watched as he and his parents left.

'C'mon, James,' said his father, 'we haven't got all day. By the way,' he said, as James entered the car. 'Did you like your Christmas present?'

'Loved it,' said James. 'Great for sneaking to the kitchens.'

'You found them? Already? Took me three years. Maybe you're naturally more mischievous.'

'Undoubtedly,' said James. And the two of them climbed into the car, still laughing, and started the long journey home.

I finished it! Woohoo! With only five minutes until Christmas! Once again, I stress that I own no characters, places, rules, or organisations, which doesn't make me look so good. (Oh, you know whom they belong to!). I wonder if JKR ever comes onto this site to read the works of her adoring fans? No, I don't think so either. See this small green box below. Please fill this in. Now that Blue Unicorn is over (it has taken me approximately I can start on 'The Werewolf', part 1 of which should not be too long in coming. Merry Christmas. Ciao

Sirius


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